What is it about explosions of different colors that really bring home the awesomeness of America? I felt really glad to be American and to be free. Free to gesture wildly back at that local woman to quit yelling. Free to choose where I celebrate Independence Day. Free to drive from city to city without a passport (in dire need of an oil change). Free to be happy. Free to have four children. Free to raise them and school them according to what I deem to be important. Free to sacrifice. Free to remember the sacrifices of others, past and present. At the sound of the first boom, I felt my heart swell and I thought to the universe, “Happy Birthday, America!”

Only two nights later, the International Space Station passed directly overhead while we were outside fishing, and I felt a kinship with the whole world. We are truly blessed to live here. Maybe it’s the sky that makes me feel these big feelings. Whenever I look up, especially to see the night sky, my spirit lifts. Maybe it’s because I’m on vacation and I’m taking the time to notice these things in the absence of work and everyday stress. That must be it.

Everyone except Daddy has been playing in the surf, building dribble castles, and playing with the wildlife. The beach is awash with coquinas and the kids like trying to catch the little baby minnows swimming in the shallow surf. Zoe has been making leaps and bounds in her ability to navigate the water. She went from a tight-cling-to-the-mommy to floating on her back with her life jacket on, bobbing up and down as the waves dictate. Poor niece Karmen has been stung by jelly fish three times this summer. I’m not sure what attracts them to her, but she is becoming a pro at how to handle the trauma. We are prepared with the meat tenderizer so that no one has to pee on her–much to everyone’s relief.

Daddy has been at home, working and playing with the new Google+. I was lucky enough to get an invite to the beta website, too, and tested the “hangout” feature for the first time last night. Hanging out is a great name for the live webcam session with more than one person. It’s like Skype, but better. At one point, we had five people on stopping in to say hello. One provided the awesome jazz guitar background music, one helped me install the scripts he wrote for Google+ to add convenience (he just does this stuff for fun to benefit others and he’s a really great guy), and one was funny (that would be my spousal unit), and we all just hung out. Well, I was mostly listening to them talk geek, but it was fun to be included. It’s always fun to be included in just about any situation. I’ve added friends and family that are in my contacts to my circles, and it will be interesting to see who comes to hang out and if the masses leave the Facebook realm. The people I interact with most (and I have not done much but lurk) now on Google+ are Friendfeeders.

Back to vacation… we haven’t been eating out much because Grandma is a good cook, but today we made up for it by hitting two places… Juan’s for lunch and Moby Dick’s for dinner. I am so stuffed. I hope the Mexican and seafood play nice in my tummy. I even took the kids to the Candy Store again. You know, the one with the huge rattlesnake? Yeah, only in South Texas. Winton’s expanded and renovated their space and it’s a very happy place. I always get the gummy grapefruit slices since I can’t seem to get them anywhere else. I also added some Swedish fish to my little white paper bag (they sell their stuff by the pound and provide little paper sacks to collect sweets in).

Now it’s time for feeding the seagulls and sunset. I’ll have to add pictures later. Hope y’all are enjoying the summer. We wish you were here!

The power of Facebook… when you have a big family like mine, and you grow up and live far away from the main clan and then convert to a different religion… Facebook can bring you into contact with your extended family. Maybe get you more intimate contact than you have a right to depending on how active the members of your family are and the nature of their use of social media. Most of the younger set use it to keep in contact with their friends, so having me, your long lost cousin, comment can be an intrusion. This is me commenting without cramping anyone’s style.

My dad’s youngest brother has a son in high school that I haven’t seen since he was small. He was real shy, but so cute when he was little and even though I know he’s practically grown now (and still cute!), I picture him as that little boy. Through FB, I know that he likes soccer, has a positive outlook on life, is well loved, and that he loves God. He posted a status about a chapter he read from a book that moved him called Crazy Love. I Googled it and was sent on an inspiring journey learning about Francis Chan, his message, and what he has done with his life.

The book is interactive as far as printed paper can be–you can read the first chapter online. At one point for emphasis, Chan wants you to stop and watch a video “The Awe Factor of God” and so I did. I watched it while I continued to read the book. Then as you read along, again, he wants you to watch another video, so I clicked the link to “Just Stop and Think” and watched that too, followed by reading the Q&A interview he gave. All of it online. Chan has a great message in both videos. As I read the first chapter of the book I liked his way of getting your attention by naming the first chapter “Stop Praying,” but there is still a lot missing. I ignored what I believe is true for that moment and let his words wash over me. I understand what he means.

I like the message, but it is just a morsel to get you through the door. With so many people in the world today avoiding/not seeing/boarding up the door, I can appreciate the message and his ministry. I like that he only wants to get you to stop and look inside yourself and feel what’s there. He’s not out to bash your head in with the Bible, but he is truly in awe of God and wants you to only acknowledge it in quiet reflection to yourself. Forget what your head knows and ask your spirit, is how I see it. Your spirit was with Him before you came to Earth, so he/she would know truth when presented with it.

Perhaps if I read the rest of the book, I would find the meat of Chan’s message, but I can already appreciate what he has to say–both with his words and with his actions. He is the pastor of a “giving church” that gives away “55% of everything that comes in”. I like when people practice what they preach and I admire anyone setting out on a journey for truth in their lives. He says that it only makes sense to give when the Bible says we are to lay up treasures in heaven. He turns around the questions many have asked of God to question ourselves, “Why are so many people dying of starvation?”.

I like the turning of the question, but I do not agree that things are the way they are “because He is God”. I think we are simply children who cannot fathom the reasons our Heavenly Father would allow justice and free agency to unfold in the same way my two-year-old daughter cannot comprehend me allowing her brothers and sister to reap the consequences of breaking rules or being lazy. If they get spanked, it’s not because I don’t love them. Still, I understand his reasons because people so love to ask of God what’s wrong with the world when simple investigation would yield that without righteousness there can be no peace. The Hawaiians knew that the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono. It’s not God’s fault.

I flat out disagree with Chan’s statement “because none of us are good” under the the bolded paragraph leader “God is fair and just.” I mean, I get that he thinks God is this really big, bright entity with power and glory. I thought that about my dad when I was little, too. We are just children. I know that none of us could be sacrificed for sin in the way that Jesus Christ atoned because of his sinlessness, but we are inherently good.

I agree with Chan when he talks about the awesomeness of everything God has made and is and how it takes quiet contemplation to really grasp it and even then, we’d fail to comprehend it all. I think of Psalm 46, “Be still, and know that I am God,” and that’s really the basis of Chan’s message.

I disagree that “God hates and must punish sin”. I believe that the foundation for the world was set and certain principles cannot be broken, so yeah, you’re going to get yours, but not because he’s compelled in any way by hatred. Saying you hate sin is not the same as saying you will punish sin because you hate it. Right?

As for the rest of the chapter under the heading “Before the Throne”, I will not launch into what’s what since I read the King James’ Translation of the Bible and believe that there was a lot of symbolism and imagery used. I understand that Chan wants us to feel the weight of the differences between God, who is “mighty” and “fearsome”, and man who is “puny” in comparison, though, so we’ll leave it at that. Still, I thought his interpretation was beautiful.

I am grateful for a high school student who shared his reaction to this book because it allowed me to see the kind of person I have for a cousin and to feel connected to my family. (Yay, technology!) It also let me take inventory of myself and have a reaction of my own.

I do so want to follow the Savior Jesus Christ and live as he would want me to. I hope that I will apply the inspiration I receive from those with the gift to inspire reverence and love for gospel truths, not just be fed for an hour and then walk away forgetting. I want the fruits of my lifestyle to be consistent with my beliefs. Mostly, I want my faith in Jesus Christ to grow and strengthen into not just a belief in him, but to believe him when he says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

I bought a jar of Nutella in the international aisle of HEB early last week. I made a double batch of rolls and I figured we could go European and eat chocolate for breakfast. The kids were out of their minds with happiness, dying and going to heaven every morning. And now the jar is almost gone. It’s times like these that I have to concede that our family is big. I told the kids that bigger jars of Nutella exist. I know because I saw it in Lance Armstrong’s photo book. Now all I need is to get my hands on it. Anybody know where to buy obscenely huge jars of Nutella in America?

I forgot to bring my camera the first time we went on an extremely sunny day, but remembered to bring it today and it was overcast. In fact, it was raining on us by the time we left. We were out in the water when it started to rain and Grandma said to the boys, “Oh, no, we might get wet!” They just laughed. She’s a funny gal.

One of my favorite things to do at Grandma’s beach is make dribble castles. The sand is so fine that you can dig a hole, fill it with water (or let the waves do it for you), grab a handful of wet sand, and dribble it in a pile. I like to make bridges between two spires and make a bunch so the king and queen have plenty of places to cross. What can I say? It sparks my imagination and I’m a kid again.

I was way too excited about my creation and took pictures of it before it could get destroyed (either by natural disaster or the toddler).

Hope y’all are having a great summer!

Watching the Olympics.

This past week, I’ve noticed that Zoe has acquired more language. She is starting to use these phrases in coversation:

“Sure.” (I asked her if she wanted to wear a certain article of clothing and got this answer. Two minutes later, I asked her if she wanted something to eat and got this answer.)

“Oh, gosh,” has turned into “Oh, my gosh.” (We have been trying to discourage this, but between us laughing when she says it and saying it ourselves, we have not had much success.)

“What heck,” for “What the heck?” (I haven’t heard her say this, but Sarah tells me about each instance when she does.)

“OK?” has turned into, “Are you OK?” or “It’s OK. It’s OK.” (She asks you if you’re OK if you trip, cough, or sneeze. She tells you that it’s OK when she hears something really loud and scary outside, like thunder and rain.)

“What doing?” has become “What are you doing?” (She opens her arms wide, tips her head to the side and bounces her arms with each syllable when she says this. It’s beyond comical.)

“It’s hot. It’s hot. It’s hot.” (She says this when she sees steam coming up from the stove or when she has a plate of hot food in front of her at dinner. She won’t stop saying it until you agree with her and repeat back to her that yes, it is hot.)

“Wa-wa-watch” (She says this when she wants to watch Baby Signing Time or The Princess and the Frog on Boxee.)

“I see you.” (She says this in a sing-song voice when playing peek-a-boo.)

“Mommy hold you.” (She says this when it’s time for a nap or to go to sleep and I don’t give her a bottle. It means she wants me to hold her.)

“Rub-bub-bub-back” (Another bedtime phrase that she usually says whining after she has flipped herself on to her tummy and wants you to rub her back. She is snoring within 90 seconds.)

EDIT: Some I forgot to mention are:

“Peck-kick-kick-kick et up” (She so often hears me tell her to “pick it up” so when she accidentally drops her napkin or fork at dinner, this is what you’ll hear her say. She adds multiple kicks for emphasis — if you don’t hear her the first time or if she’s in a particular hurry.)

“Open-nen-nen-nen-et” (She says this when she finds a snack that she can’t open on her own.)

“Want some?” (She says this like a question, but not because she’s offering you anything. It means she wants some. Usually gum or candy, but can be for whatever snack you’re eating at the time.)

“Sauce” (This is an oldie, but goodie… and she still uses it for “soft”.)

ANOTHER EDIT April 4, 2010:

“Pee pee Potter” (She says this for “peanut butter” but I often hear her singing it over and over again. “Pee pee POHhhhhh-ter, pee pee pohhhhh-ter. The kids get busted if they copy her, but I catch myself singing it, too.)

Wow, it’s really dusty here. Glad I just picked up some Pledge to take care of the mess that has accumulated in my absence. (No really, this stuff works great and smells really good, too.) I just took care of 71 spam comments. People find me whenever I post something to Friendfeed or Facebook and then my poor blog is attacked. I still haven’t figured out how to disable comments on some of the pictures I have saved as their own entry. I don’t know how I did that. I don’t know why I did that. I just write here from time to time. Hopefully, now that things are straightened out a little, I’ll get back into more regular posting.

When I started homeschooling this school year, my blog turned into a weekly update for how things have been going. Our education goals have dropped off a little. You know how life happens… first it was the visit from Nana Koko that wreaked havoc on the daily grind and we played a lot and did a lot of field trips, then it was Thanksgiving when we fried a turkey, and then Christmas break came and I only let the kids take one week off while we were at Grandma’s house. Since the new year began, we have gotten back to the daily grind. And it’s fun! I still take a few days to get my work done during deadline week, but for the most part, things have been back on track.

The most exciting change that has happened in homeschooling is that the HEART homeschooling group and Juergen’s Gymnastics have finally cut a deal and the boys will be doing gymnastics once-a-month. I know the sessions are few and far between, but I’m hoping to keep the boys doing their stretches daily so to keep them progressing forward between sessions as much as possible. And they have the Wii Fit. And they play outside on their bikes/razor scooters/ripstick on nice days, like today.

So… other than homeschooling, I’ve been reading books. Even though I have less time now, there is always time for reading. Like when the football game is on, I sit next to my husband in the living room and read. While he is bouncing up and down and yelling about Brett Favre throwing an interception, I’m in another world altogether. These are moments that I truly enjoy. Especially when the laundry’s done and the kitchen sink is clean and everyone is fed and watered or put to bed.

Other things have happened, like Seth turned eight in December and got baptized in January. It was such a peaceful and smooth-going baptism. Everything and everyone was nice. During “intermission” we asked everyone to write a note to him and it was great to read what people wrote. Many of them referenced Grandpa Randy’s talk on baptism (Randy and Niki were both able to attend which was an incredible blessing and miracle considering their unique circumstances). Seth has a nice collection of encouraging words from those who attended. I like that it is also a record of all who attended because I know from experience that when you’re the reason for an event it’s nice to go back and see who was there cheering you on. Seth is currently awaiting his very own set of scriptures which we forgot to order until about a week ago. His set is going to be green. He’s excited to be getting his own pocket hymn book, too, which will also be green. We somehow forgot to get one for Zack, so he’s getting a black one to match his scriptures. These are traditional gifts that we give to them when our children turn eight and are baptized.

As is the custom in our church, Seth also became a new Cub Scout. He could hardly wait to get his uniform. He wears it so proudly. And the Wolf Handbook was devoured in the first hour of it reaching his hands. He had the Bobcat Badge taken care of in his first week of scouts. He has slowed down a little since, but he is still very excited to be a Cub Scout. His enthusiasm has brushed off on his older brother who is a Webelos. Zack has quite a bit to do in the next five months in order to get his badge and Arrow of Light award. It is part of our homeschooling goals to give more time to these scout goals. I have given them a project of learning about the Food Pyramid and presenting it to the family while also taking inventory of our own eating habits from a week of recording everything we ate. I haven’t seen any more action on this, so I’m making a mental note to get out my whip. What? Indiana Jones has one. It’s for cracking, not whipping.

Speaking of whipping… I made another yummy dessert topped with homemade whipped cream tonight. Ever since Zoe’s 2nd birthday (just about two weeks ago), I’ve been craving another yellow cake topped with vanilla pudding, whipped cream, and blueberries. It is so good and so light. You could eat the whole pan in one sitting and not hurt a thing. I’m guessing. I didn’t really do that, but I have a feeling that I could. Everyone just had one piece for dessert/refreshments for Family Home Evening. We played Uno tonight. The first game lasted about 30 minutes. It was so long that we only played two games. The second one was quick. And we were able to dig into our desserts at a decent hour.

Come to think of it, we had dinner at a decent hour, too. All thanks to Josh – he reminded me to put it in the oven around 2pm and also gave me the idea on how to cook the pork I defrosted. I rubbed a pork tenderloin with minced garlic, poultry seasoning, and celery salt, threw it in a foil bag, and roasted it in the oven for about three hours. It was falling apart when I took it out. It was the easiest thing ever. I threw some potatoes on the rack to complement the pork. I got the loin half price, so dinner tonight was about 10 bucks for our family of six. Zoe held her own, too, she ate everything. I kept looking at the floor to see if she was throwing it down there, but no… the times, they are a-changing when the toddler gets more food in her mouth than everywhere else. She even ate the rosemary-salted carrots. The rosemary was grown by Randy and Niki’s neighbor down in Port A. The neighbor mixes it with sea salt and puts the mix in little jars to give as Christmas gifts to the neighbors. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time and scored our own little jar since Randy and Niki still haven’t used up the one they got last year.

Health-wise, we are taking turns with the sore throat and headache cold. I believe it was Zoe who started it. Then I got it last week and now Sarah is really starting to feel it. So at church yesterday we barely got through singing Aloha ‘Oe to a dear friend who is moving to Indonesia. While sitting in church the week before, I felt inspired to sing to her despite my lack of singing voice. I recruited Sarah to sing it with me in the Young Women room after their opening exercises. Since the YW President served her mission in Hawaii, she knows all about this custom of singing “Farewell to Thee” to members who move out of the ward. We sing and then bring lei to give and show our love. Everyone cries. You tell yourself that you’re not going to, but the beauty of the music (even when I’m singing it) creates a portal to your heart and allows all that feeling to come up and out. While practicing the song, I even told the girls not to cry, but everyone was crying by the time we were done with our singing. Arwen, our friend and former YW President, was crying before we began. Instead of flower lei, we gave cookie and candy leis. It was a very nice day at church yesterday. We came home very uplifted.

Aloha `Oe by Lili`uokalani

Ha`aheo e ka ua i nâ pali

Ke nihi a`ela i ka nahele

E uhai ana paha i ka liko

Pua `âhihi lehua o uka

Hui:

Aloha `oe, aloha `oe

E ke onaona noho i ka lipo

One fond embrace, A ho`i a`e au

Until we meet again

Translation:

Proudly sweeps the rain cloud by the cliffs

As onward it glides through the trees

It seems to be following the liko

The `ahihi lehua of the vale.

Chorus:

Farewell to thee, farewell to thee

Thou charming one who dwells among the bowers

One fond embrace, before I now depart

Until we meet again.

I wanted to write after witnessing my first Eagle Scout Court of Honor and record my feelings before they flit away. My heart was full listening to the scout leaders, Congressman Poe, and the five young men receiving their Eagle Scout Award. A lot was said about the young men becoming the future leaders of our church, our city, our state, our nation… Words to describe them reflected the Scout Law—like courage and honor. Congressman Poe, who was a judge for many years, stated that in all 25,000 of the criminal cases he oversaw not one of the offenders was an Eagle Scout. He believed it to be a testament to the good of the Boy Scouts of America program. The boys are just too busy doing other things to get into any trouble. When he was done speaking, he presented each Eagle Scout with an American flag that had been flown over the White House along with a certificate of authenticity.

As each of the young men stepped up to the podium to say a few words—all of them were grateful to their parents, scout and church leaders, coaches or some particular person who pushed them to earn this award—I looked at my oldest son wearing his Webelos uniform and imagined him achieving Eagle Rank. I thought every boy in the room is dreaming about becoming an Eagle Scout and every mother in the room wants her son to live up to the Eagle Scout ideals. I couldn’t see my husband sitting in an “Eagle’s Nest” on the stand, but I thought of him and what it must have felt like for him when he got his Eagle. Both of his brothers are Eagle Scouts and his dad was their Scoutmaster for many years. The fathers of the five boys each had a chance to speak and a few got choked up while expressing their love for their sons. There were jokes about being tired, being literally pushed, and reference was made to Philmont Camp when someone lost the food on the last day. So much work went into getting those boys to set goals and then achieve them.

So much work went into the Court of Honor. One of the moms expressed to me how much like a wedding it felt in the way of preparing for it. The building was exquisitely decorated with pictures of the scouts, pictures of eagles, statues of eagles, banners reflecting the Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared”, American flags, little evergreen trees and other patriotic memorabilia. Afterwards, they served food catered by Chick-Fil-A. They added to the brownies and cheesecake with Blue Bell ice cream and cake. I got to help serve the cake. I was instructed to give one piece per person unless it was one of the five new Eagle Scouts. They could have seconds if they wanted. A lot of work went into setting up the event and lots of work went into cleaning up after the celebration. I took the kids home while Josh helped take stuff down and set up the building for church tomorrow. When he got home, Josh reported that it was awesome being a part of the clean up crew, too, because everyone helped. Scouts know and do their duty.

I know it’s going to be a lot of work getting my boys ready to go out into the world and lead successful lives. I’m glad that we have the Scout program to help them learn to set goals and then get that awesome feeling when they have achieved them. I’m glad that we were able to attend the Eagle Court of Honor so that my boys could catch the spirit of scouting and my Webelos could continue to work hard to get his awards. Seth will get his uniform next month and he is very excited to be a new Cub Scout—even more so now that he has attended an Eagle Scout Court of Honor.

We took a field trip to the Children’s Museum of Houston. We used to have season passes when we first moved here and it was one of our favorite places to go. We haven’t been there in a while and I thought that it would be more of the same stuff, but I was pleasantly surprised and amazed to find it renovated now with three floors. There was way too much to see before they closed and the five hours we were there went by very quickly.

We finally moved away from the puzzle area and found a lab room. Zack donned a lab coat and safety glasses to assemble different molecule models.

Seth assembled a few also, and this one is just so appropriate for him.

The lab coats didn’t fit Sarah, but she put it on anyway along with a silly pose.

I left the big kids with Nana and took Zoe to the second floor where the Tot Spot was located. It was my favorite spot in the whole place. It was toddler heaven. I think if we were there during the summer time then it would quickly change to more of a hell when crowded with kids, but the day we went it was wonderful. Zoe had plenty of room and space to explore.

Kids love to flip the switch! This little exhibit is dedicated to the simple act of turning on and off a light switch.

This one makes the real sound of a toilet flushing. It was my favorite. I got Zoe to do it more than once and tried it a few times myself. The little underpants sitting on the floor below the bear on the potty made me giggle.

Zoe really liked the flowers. I had no idea that they spun and it’s such a great little display since kids can and will touch everything. It was an excellent discovery.

Crawling through the tunnel merits a bit of tongue concentration.

This was Zoe’s favorite. She walked over this tactile walkway over and over again.

I can’t believe I got a picture of the two little boys (Zoe’s looking down on them in the plastic ball pit) that we played with. This was before the little one decided that I was trustworthy. He followed me around with his arms uplifted like he wanted me to pick him up. So I did. He kept doing it, so I did more than once. His dad was there and laughed about it. The big brother and I got into a war with the little plastic balls. He started it and then my Zack got into it. The big kids took a break to see Zoe in her element and were told they couldn’t play. So… the lady came to stand by us and frown disapprovingly at us just as the war was winding down. I thought we were going to get kicked out. We left shortly after that to give the poor lady some peace.

This is what the boys were doing while we were upstairs… they were in a giant climbing thing that was all three stories tall (Lower Level to First Floor to Second Floor). They had a blast. You have to be at least five years old to go in it.

Back to the Tot Spot… here’s another display that is pure fun. The door bell rings, the light switch turns the porch light on and off, and the doors swing open to reveal a mirror.

We went outside for a little tricycle and rocking fish play. It was a nice day, so not too hot. Plus, most of the outside area was in shade.

We had to let the boys paint their faces. Sarah didn’t, but I sat Zoe in front of the mirror to do simple flowers on her cheeks and nose. She cried because I wouldn’t let her take the bowls with sponges out. We calmed her down and Sarah ducked inside a little puppet theater. She put a bird out and Zoe was absolutely mesmerized. She thought it was all real until Sarah lifted the curtain.

They had stations set up throughout the museum for Trick or Treating. Even though we didn’t have costumes on, we got bags from the front and went throughout the museum collecting candy. After we had gone through the line at one station, a camera began shooting near us and a lady asked if we would go through the line again so that the camera could capture Zoe.  The Channel 2 News was there with the weather man, Frank Billingsley, doing live shots.  I took a picture of Zoe with him, but she was tired and wouldn’t stand by him or smile. He was great, though. Josh scoured the news later that evening, but he didn’t find any footage of her.

We discovered the craft/invention room on the Lower Level. Zoe’s eyes popped out of her head that there were so many Lego blocks and she was allowed to touch them.

The last thing the kids did was check out the changes that were made outside.

Well, there is actually one last thing you must do as you leave the museum… you have to put your sticker (the one they give you to wear and show that you paid) on the pole across the street. Sarah helped Zack to get it at the highest point they could.

Our first time visiting the Downtown Aquarium Houston was pretty fun. There is a lot to be said for going during the off season. We went through the inside exhibits almost completely on our own. There was an Asian guy there by himself and my mom kept having to take pictures of him with stuff, but once we got outside, we were able to ditch him. I was extremely curious why he was there on his own. We later sat behind him on the train ride and talked all through his video recording of the tour. I don’t think he spoke English too well, so it’s kind of funny that we’re rattling off in a foreign language.

The kids had to pick out a favorite creature while there and be able to tell us about it when we got home. They also had to write in their journals the things that they most liked about this day and the things they saw and learned.

There were a lot of built-in photo ops at the Aquarium. I liked the swamp one and Zoe’s face. She’s imitating the sound I make when I want to get her attention for a picture.

Blue Poison Dart Frog

What’s an Aquarium visit without the token silhouette shot?

Seth came face-to-face with a Tarantula!

Sarah demonstrating her ability to follow the rules – touch with one finger only!

I’m not sure how aware Zoe was of the creatures in the petting tank. She just got more and more upset that she couldn’t go in the water.

I took at least twenty pictures of this little tank trying to get a good shot of Dory and Nemo (or is it Marlin?). They just kept swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming… You can see the reflection of my mom’s camera next to mine. We both spent a good three minutes trying to get the perfect shot. This one will do.

Zoe climbed back under the petting tank and then the boys joined her one by one.

Zack and Seth took several pictures with this fake tiger. There was a button on the wall to take the picture, and then the picture was shown on the wall right below. The idea is to buy the picture as it is listed with a reference number. Of course, they milk you for all you’re worth by this exhibit exiting through a gift shop. It was very Disney, only without the crazy pictures of you screaming down Splash Mountain or other ride.

Zoe finally got to touch water at the outside fountain. In fact, we let her go all out ending with us stripping her and sitting her back in the stroller covered by her jeans. We booked it to the car to put her in a nice, dry diaper and her sweatshirt. We also probably broke some public indecency law by letting her naked self get into the fountain at the front entrance while on our way to the car. My mom took that picture, so I don’t have it. Probably best not to post them anyway. I will say that her face was completely lit up when I put her in the fountain and she cried bloody murder when I took her out.

Zoe wasn’t too sure about this lady when we picked her up from the airport. When Nana turned around in her seat to say hi, Zoe reached for Sarah who was sitting next to her for protection. When we got home and Nana unpacked her suitcases with the goodies she had brought for us, Zoe was leaning right up against her to get the best view. Once she knew that we could trust her and that she had gifts, Zoe was best friends with Nana.

We have been having some fun times and not-so-fun times with Nana. We started out great with a visit to the Downtown Aquarium in Houston. Nana bought City Passes so that we could hit a bunch of such attractions, and we worried that we wouldn’t be able to hit everywhere within the 9-day deadline. The date was never stamped on our City Pass booklets, however, so we have been able to keep using the passes even though we have gone over the deadline.

Our excuse/sob story, in case anyone asks, is that we got the stomach flu on day three. Zoe started it off. Then Nana was in bed for a few days. Then Zack joined the vomit club. Then it hit me and Josh over the weekend. Seth was next, but didn’t last for more than a couple of days. Sarah did not succumb, but has since felt under the weather due to the season change. We are all better now and have resumed our excursions. So far, no one has questioned the validity of our City Passes. Knock on wood.

We are also having fun shopping. My mom loves to shop. There’s much more variety and better prices here on the mainland, but some of the stuff she gets blows me away. She wanted to buy a shower curtain liner. I said in my best Chamorro accent, “They don’t have shower curtains in Guam?” She said, “Yeah nai, but not for a dollar.” I don’t give her a hard time. I just take her where she wants to go and throw my own wants in the cart (yes, I’m two and I can still work my mother into buying me stuff–I don’t think that will ever change).

Now that our stomachs are back to handling the sugar, we have also been cooking and endeavoring to cook together. One of the things we think we are going to make is homemade marshmallows. I have always wanted to make them and she says that Auntie Chilang (her oldest sister) has made some pretty yummy ones, like orange marshmallows. We’ll see if we actually get to it.

Oh, we hit the Humble Farmer’s Market, and I mention it because I wanted to report that it has gotten better. Still not Northern California caliber, but we came away with fresh bread (Country French and Cranberry Walnut), scones (Pumpkin, Cranberry Walnut and Chocolate Chip), naan (Plain and Lentil Potato filled), Indian curries (Chicken Tikka Marsala and Pickle Chili Chicken Curry), collared greens, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes. Zoe eats the cherry tomatoes like candy. The seeds squirt out and I find them on her legs, backs of her arms, and belly. We are all so happy that we can eat again.

It has been fun having Nana here. Our visit is coming to a close with only five days left (and still four more places to hit with our City Passes!) and we’ll be sorry when she has to go. Three weeks sounded like a long time when she first got here, but it has gone by so fast.