Aggieland

Aggieland was beckonning to us to come visit. Jenn and Cameron had their first baby, a little girl, Tess in August. We counldn't stay away for long. So September found us slowly wilting with the humidity in College Station. Humidity is it's own beast. Just like temps above 110 (which we had left behind). But the neighbors had a pool we could play in and being able to see everyone was well worth it

A happy boy. Propel and Fruit snacks.

Hanging out in Jenn's training room at Texas A&M.

The only reason I put this picture in is to profess my love for my car, which is NOT a minivan. I'll give you minivan drivers props for storage capacity, but other than that, I couldn't wait to get back to my car. Now, often our purchases meet our needs for the moment but not for the long term. I will agree that a minivan is good for small kids, easy to get in and out of....but Brandon who is 11 felt cramped each time he had to get in the back seat, and they all complained they were sitting on top of each other. He would do anything he could to make sure he had one of the captains chairs. After driving that minivan, Brian and I were both grateful we had made a good long term purchase, one that fits our family. I'm off my soap box now.

The real reason we headed to Texas- Tess' Blessing. Zachary loved her. This is the first time we haven't had a new one when we had a 2 or 3 year old. I forogt how much they love little ones. It brought back many sweet memories!

There was a slight misunderstanding about going to the football game. We had a few little boys (and big boys) slightly disappointed that this is where they had to stand. No ticket scalpers were to be found either, very strange. At least we tried!

But... all was not lost...thank goodness for Jenny and her connections. Monday, the boys got to run a lap around Kyle Field, so the sad long faces of Saturday were quickly replaced with excited cheers and boundless energy- Matthew is in the background running.

We stopped at the Houston Space Center before leaving for home. This was mission control until the 1980's including Apollo 13.

Full scale mock up's of the International Space Station and Space Shuttle where the astronauts train. Much smaller than I anticipated. Cool to see. But grateful my feet are on earth

Saturn V Rocket. The Saturn V carried all Apollo missions into space. The intracacies of all the wiring and tubing was incredible.

Size comparrison of Matthew and Andrew with the rocket- I couldn't even get the top into the picture.

First day of school

Andrew was beyond excited to start 1st grade for 2 reasons: 1) he could bring a lunch and 2) he could finally join the ranks of backpack bearing kids. He had been saving up all his keychains to put on his backpack, they honestly weigh more than the papers he brings home everyday. He is an easy kid to pack a lunch for, he doesn't really care what he gets in there! (wish a few others were like that!) All day has been a difficult transition for him, academically it is a breeze, but he comes home exhausted and in fine form which lends itself to many long and hard afternoons for all of us.

New shoes. I love how each of their personalities come through!

summer life

Happy thirty-something to me...

Happy 11th to Brandon- the complete set of 39 clues books had him grinning.

Someday we will get candles that match. Somehow it is the one thing I never think of, every birthday we scramble to find something that will somehow resemble the year we are celebrating.

The one-eyed balloon monster.

Reading and reading and reading the summer away...

Trying to help.

San Francisco/Oakland/Moraga

After our brief stop in Monterey, up the coast we headed. I often forget we left when Brandon was 4 and Matthew 18 mos., sometimes I don't realize they don't remember anything about the Bay Area, I just assume they do. We did many of the "tourist" things. It was fun to share with them many of the places and things I did growing up.







No stop to Pier 39 is complete without watching the sea lions! Zach's laugh was uncontrolable as he watched them barking and fighting with one another.

A boat trip around the Bay.

Cable Cars. Brandon was thrilled when one ride he was able to stand and hold on

Lombard Street- we hiked down it- and then not so happily, hiked back up. I love the manicured yards the homes have.

My Uncle is a Superior Court Judge for the city of San Francisco, so we stopped into his chambers one morning. They loved seeing the holding cell off his chambers, sitting in his chair and playing with real handcuffs.

This is the only picture from the Exploratorium I have that came out ( it was fairly dark, so not much luck). We loved the Exploratorium- hands on science experiments! Tons of them! We spent almost an entire day, usually kids tire, but not with this musuem. A toilet drinking fountain- don't you wish you could drink out of one?

Walking across the Golden Gate- windy and foggy- perfect SF weather! We were loving wearing jeans and sweatshirts all week. Andrew had the hardest time, he was always freezing.

Trying to climb the south tower.

I only put this picture in for me. When I used to go the California Acadamy of Sciences one of my favorite parts was the alligator swamp which had the seahorse railing. The room was hot and steamy and there were generally 10-12 alligators, and one albino one. We would always try and find the albino one. They have completely redone the whole complex, but saved the railing and the one albino alligator. Thanks for the memories!

The California Acadamy of Sciences is in Golden Gate Park. No trip to the Park for a child is complete without trying the cement slides. Of course they always seemed longer than they actually are, as a child. We brought our own cardboard, so we had nice fast rides!

Andrew, the child with very few fears, climbed to the top of the huge web shaped pyramid which was close to 15 feet tall. He is on the top on the right.

This is the house I grew up in in Moraga ( we lived in 3 different homes) but this is the one I associate most with my childhood.

Ahh the temple... this holds many sweet memories for me. Our Stake Center growing up was on the grounds of the Temple. I was baptized here, I went to church here for a few years while our regular ward building was being remodled, and we were married here. We lived Alameda for four years which is just west of the temple, and if you were on the right streets, you could look into the hills and see the temple.

Andrew trying to peek in the East doors.

13 years later.... four kids!