Trip to Galveston

It's a 2 hour trip from our house to Galveston. That seems a long way when you are driving it with kids, but a really short distance when a hurricane is bearing down on you. We loaded up, gave the boys handheld gaming devices, grabbed the portable DVD players and away we went. 

The trip went fast and we arrived on the island. Drove around a little to see all the rebuilding. Saw a lot of houses that are now abandoned due to the damage done by Ike.

We got caught in a thunderstorm, and were amazed to see blue tarps still on many roofs. The gov't supplied the tarps and they were all supposed to be repaired a long time ago with gov't funds. No idea why they are still there.

This little fishing pier is on the back side of the island and yet it looks like twisted tinker toys. 

This is The Flagship Hotel, built on a pier over the water. It has been around for about as long as the seawall. Unfortunately, it is slated to be torn down now. So sad. Even sadder is the thousands of Oak trees destroyed by the salt water. They are busy cutting them down all over the island.

Thunderstorms can pop up out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly. This delayed our beach time a little, but not too much. We grabbed some lunch and waited it out.

My boys at the beach. Notice the man off to the right in the picture. He is way out there and the water is only up to his thighs. It stays shallow for a very long way. 

Those black dots in the sky above the kids are Pelicans. 

Although the beaches by the seawall were crowded, we were at the west end of the island and the beaches were really empty.

Ahren took to the water right away, but wasn't too happy when he kept getting sand in his water shoes.

Ahren spent most of the time running back and forth from the sand toys to the water. 

Sun protection was high on my list.

Best buds.

More running up and down the beach. This is a most excellent way to wear out small boys.

Splashing in the surf. Nice little waves.

And one last shot of Levi and his freaky eye thing he does.  Attack of the Zombie Albino Boy.

We had a wonderful time. In fact, we had so much fun we will be placing an offer on a house down there today. A nice little beach house, located on a canal with a boat dock. It's only a few years old, in brand-new condition and comes fully furnished. Three bedrooms, two baths, and just 5 minutes by golf cart from the beach in the above pictures. It's on the high end of the island and they only got 3 feet of water under the house during Ike. No damage. Chris's company is buying it for investment reasons, but it will be our weekend get-away spot. Cowabunga, Dude!!

Nothing new going on here

Still hotter than hades and dry as a bone. We are heading down to the beach tomorrow. This will be the first time I have seen Galveston since hurricane Ike. I am worried. They are recovering but they just recently began the job of cutting down the massive oak trees all along the main boulevard that died after Ike. Several of the piers are gone. Many, many shops are gone. And a lot of the beach is gone. Washed out to sea. It's so sad, but also encouraging. The resiliency of the human race is amazing. 

Other than that, it's the same old, same old. Laundry, cleaning, work, kids, and many many messes. The girls are with their dad, heading out on vacation soon. School starts in just over a month. 

I promise beach pix and a better update soon!

Awwwww

The view out of my back windows this morning.

Oh my Queen

The other day Levi and Mina decided to play dress up.  Levi put on a knights costume complete with a long sword, and Mina was his Princess. Levi declared he was the Dark Knight and was protecting his Princess from the evil people. 

Ahren was following along with  he game but not wearing a costume. I wasn't sure what his role was, so I asked. He told me, "Weevi is the knight, Mina is the Pwincess and I am the Queen!"

Well, it was a Fairy Tale.........

Extreme heat causes insanity

Well, it was another 100+ degree week with the addition of some humidity that made things even more unbearable. The garden withered up, I picked the last tomatoes today. Even with daily watering it was just too hot. Only the watermelons are still going. Poor garden, I had such high hopes this year. 

So what is a group of the 6 and under set to do to keep entertained while cooped up?

For one thing, you can wear your new motocross helmet to watch TV! 

You can play endless games of 'weed'. (Mina calls it the Weed, not Wii!)

Even Holly can play the Weed!

And then, when the heat has completely fried your brain and you are desperate....you buy cheap make-up at the dollar store and play Beauty Parlor. (This kept them entertained for an hour at a time on several different days. Who'd have thought....) And yes, I am keeping these photos for future blackmail purposes. Bwah hah hah hahhahhhahhh. Snort.

I miss this girl

Man I miss this girl, every day. She has sure turned into quite the beauty, inside and out.

It's HOT HOT HOT

July in southern Texas is normally pretty hot but this year we have been experiencing 100 plus degrees every day and no rain. That has made it really hard for Levi to enjoy his big birthday present. A new 4-wheeler! 

This is battery operated, goes up to 10 miles per hour and is bigger than the regular little kids 4-wheeler. It's called a Razor Quad. Levi should be able to enjoy it for a couple of years before he outgrows it, and then it will be Ahren's turn. 

This 4-wheeler goes fast enough that we require levi to wear a helmet. Here he is in his bike helmet but Chris is getting him a real motocross helmet soon.

Ahren rides his tractor with Levi. It doesn't go nearly as fast which is a good thing. He never looks where he is driving and keeps running into things. 

Mr. Tough Guy showing off his gnarly tat. 

It rained yesterday for the first time in weeks and weeks. The kids got so excited that they made a break for it to play in the rain. I added baby soap and they all got a good shower.

Rain drops are falling on my head.... 

Here is the gang after the rain play. All wrapped up and drying off. Their hair was sooo soft!

I'm in love

with a little girl named Rachel. She lives in Sarah's Covenant Home in Ongole, India. Go here to see the amazing work Sarah is doing. http://sarahscovenanthomes.blogspot.com.

Sarah was led by the Lord to open homes in India for children with disabilities who were neglected in the regular state run facilities. Earlier this year she gained custody of Rachel. Rachel was born with a deformity of her lower left leg, which had been operated on in an attempt to repair it. When Sarah got Rachel, the cast on her leg was in bad shape, but what they found inside the cast was way, way worse. Warning: the photo is very graphic. When I saw this, I broke down in tears. This beautiful, beautiful child must have been in agony. The tissue was necrotic, the skin infected, the leg mangled.

Poor Rachel was so scared of doctors and all things medical, but who could blame her? She had the sad, vacant eyes of a wounded animal.

But soon, very soon, the spirit of this small girl began to shine through. My husband and I sent money to pay for school for her. Real school. With 'normal' kids. Rachel was thrilled and had her very first day of school last week. 

Isn't she beautiful? 

The human spirit is amazing, and the power of God's love even more so. The light in this child's eyes brings me to tears, but this time it's tears of joy.

Sarah can always use all the support she can get. Go read her blog and you can see what miracles she is working. Her work will move you in ways you won't believe!

I'm a Barbie girl

In a Barbie world.

I am plastic.

It's Fantastic!

Kaytee had a photo shoot today in the loft district in downtown Houston. It took about 5 hours and it was a lot of fun. 

I snuck this shot out of the dressing room where I was supposed to not be watching (Kaytee doesn't care if I watch but the photographers get nervous thinking the mom will butt in, so they restrict us to the dressing room. Ugh!)

The last shots were very dressy, and they made her up with lots of makeup and extra-big hair. She hates that look but it looks great in photos. She spent the hour in the car on the way home taking photos of herself looking like Barbie. Well, maybe Barbie meets Pee Wee Herman......

My beautiful girl. Maybe she has a career in the circus!

Birthday Boy

Guess who is 6 years old?

You guessed it, Levi!

We aren't celebrating his birthday until this weekend but yesterday we did have a little cake, some balloons and a few small presents to honor the day.

Peeking thru the presents

Sparkler candles add that special festive flair.

Uhh, I think this means it's good...???

Monkey see, monkey do. He had to make a face for the camera.

The joys of blue and green icing. Good thing I didn't get the Spiderman cake.

More funny face. He is definitely a comedian!

Levi got Star Wars movies from Holly so last night we had a pizza and movie night. It was awesome!!!!!

Look Mom, it's Darth Vader!

Underpants Gnomes

  This is my favorite South Park episode because I lived it in corporate America for many years. Here is the gist of the show:

  Gnomes keep sneaking into the boys rooms and stealing their underpants out of their drawers. The mothers are all getting mad because the boys have no underwear so the boys decide to catch the thieves. They sit up all night and finally catch the Gnomes sneaking in and stealing the underpants. 

  The boys follow the Gnomes back to their secret cave and confront them. They demand to know why the Gnomes keep stealing their underpants and the gnomes tell them:

Phase 1: Steal underpants

Phase 2: ??? Phase 2???

Phase 3: Make money!!

  See the beauty in that? Just like corporate America, they have a starting point and a definite goal in mind but absolutely no clue how to get from point A to point B. No plan, no in-between steps, nothing. I can't tell you how many companies I have worked for that this applied. Sad but true.