Every Day A Blessing: July 2012

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Today I slept in because yesterday was......

Marine World!! Or now as "they" would call it, 6 Flags Discovery Kingdom.

Christina did a program where she documented 6 hours of reading and recieved a free pass here in reward. We also got in for kid's prices.

We drove down and had a little lunch at Fresh Choice before the park. It was beautiful to see the girls' trays. They chose salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, peas, broccoli and jicama! I'm so grateful that they have great eating habits. I hope Elijah follows suit! The weather was a gorgeous 72 degrees, we never had to wait in line & had an absolute BLAST!!!

Our fearless leaders!! They love maps and have a great sense of direction.

We rode on LOTS of rides!!!!

Eli's first time on a carousel! He was super happy!

We enjoyed the animals, however, it is really sad that they have to perform constantly. The music is so loud and it's just degrading. Can't we love the animals for the amazing creatures they are without all the fluff? PBS nature is better than these shows.

We held hands, played & got REALLY WET!!!!

I love my buldging muscle in this shot. I never knew that fat could be rolled into a perfect lump shape.

As the day wound down, the surroundings just got prettier and prettier. Our children could have gone until midnight, Elijah included!!!

I wish this picture wasn't so blury! I love his little toothy smile!

We'll save this one for a few years down the line.

We ended the night with a 9PM snack at Texas Roadhouse. The baby fell asleep happily and we had one of the best meals EVER! It was surprisingly reasonable, the server extra nice and efficient, the food delicious!, the atmosphere rowdy and fun... plus we got to throw peanut shells on the ground!! Maria was super tired and asked if she could go to sleep on the bench, I told her of course and she smiled and said, "You're the best mommy ever."

I think our daddy is the best daddy ever!! He is the one who makes all the fun possible!! Bankrolling the party, riding the spinny rides, showing Elijah all the fun things around....

We made it home because of Heavenly Father. I was tired. Joe was asleep. And somehow we got home. It was a really dark ride home through the mountains and there was lots of construction but everytime I drive through the pass I always remember what my dad taught me, "Just slow down if you feel uncomfortable."

Sunday, July 15, 2012

2nd Saturday in July

We decided to start the day with a great performance by EN something. It was basically a drumline and was fabulous. Supposedly they've won top 10 competitions in the nation & an old friend I grew up was in charge of the organization (M.Tully) Plus Led Zepplin and Michael Jackson on the xylophones is just plain awesome.

I remember being a cruel teen and thinking to myself, really... how hard is it to throw a flag and catch it. But after the girls demonstrated it and were working with the children, I had a moment. A moment of respect. I always loved the girls that did flags in highschool... OK, so I can only remember one, but I really did like her. Anyways, it was fun.

Maria sure does love her little brother. This guy is constantly doted on!

After the drumline's burning man performance we headed to the Art Museum. The girls got to make pinch pots and there was a fascinating exhibit on Oil by Edward Burtynsky. For 12 years he photographed the production, distribution & anything Oil. It was so thought provoking to see what we have done to our natural landscape with this natural resource. There was one picture of a man in Russia who was stripping an old huge shipping liner and didn't have any shoes.

The girls were excited to make stamped and patterned bookmarks. I love the art projects the museum sponsors. Next month is supposedly "Little Burners" a tribute to burning man for children. That should be interesting.