The Patricks Come to Town

My best bud from home and her family came out to TX to visit us last week. We've known each other since kindergarten and have remained great friends throughout the years. We always got in trouble in school for laughing! Isn't that a great friend...one who can make you laugh so hard that you get in trouble? :)

Here's what we did... (I know there's a ton of pics, but I couldn't slim it down anymore)

Spent the day at SeaWorld. Boy was it H-O-T!!!

S with her two cuties, Miss H and Miss E, and of course Shamu.

M and the girls on a ride from hell.
I say that because it took for-evah to get on this ride!
Thanks to S for taking Lil Boo for me.

Went to the Shamu show and ate cotton candy.

Picked leaves off of the shrubs.

Fed the dolphins.

This was really cool.

We also spent some time at the water park at SeaWorld.

It was a great day despite the heat (no pics though).

Next on the agenda was a morning at J&R Gymnastics.

Miss H is a pro!!!!

She went right into her front roll on every wedge mat she saw...

just like she does in her class back home.

Boo jumped off of the side onto this bar!
I was shocked. Way to go Boo.

Miss E posing for a photo.


We killed some time in the afternoon by playing in the pool and sprinkler.

Look at these cuties!

And finished up the trip with a trip to Schlitterbahn.

M, S, and Miss H on the family blaster.
Miss E rode with B-man (her crush) and Lil Boo.

It took a while to get all 3 of them to sit for this pic.

Thanks to the Dads who were behind the scenes.



Video clip of Miss H and Lil Boo on a slide at the Bahn

We had a great time and are so glad they came to visit us. We even swapped babysitting for date nights. We watched the girls while M and S went to the Alamo and to supper on the Riverwalk. And they watched Boo one night so we could to out to supper and to the movies!
It doesn't get any better than that.

Veggie Tales, A Day at the Park, and well...more...

Well, I'm happy to report that we finally have some veggies popping up in our garden. We have one banana pepper and a few tomatoes. I'm so proud of them!

And just look at how much the plants have grown since first putting them in the ground.

We've had lots of rain this past week. The night before last we had storm after storm roll through town. It knocked out the power in G's room alone. So, that meant no video monitor feed! So, I decided to sleep in the guest room upstairs should he wake up and need one of us. I couldn't believe that he was sleeping through all of the storms. This is where my irrational fear of lightning that I had as a little girl started to resurface. I started thinking, "what if lightning struck so close to his room that he was somehow effected...". So, of course, I had to go in and check on him. This is when I realized his room was out of power. I originally thought the camera for the monitor must need to be unplugged and plugged back in after the power surge. The clock was off, the little light on the wipes warmer was out and this explained why the camera wasn't working for the monitor. So, then I really started to panic. As I crawled on my hands and knees to his bed, I couldn't hear him breathing. And when I got right up to his bed, I still couldn't hear him breathing. I really started to panic. Surely, the electrical surge from the lightning had effected the little electrical circuits in his heart. So, I whispered, (you know, instead of shouting so as not to wake him up if he was actually okay) "Grady..." and he immediately jumped up and shouted, "Mama...". I tried to fall to the floor and lie perfectly still hoping he would lie down and go back to sleep. But, it didn't work. I had been caught! But, more importantly, my Lil Boo had not been struck by lightning and his heart was beating fine! Oh brother! See what your mind does to you at 3 a.m. when left to its own devices? I know it's wierd, but this was seriously a very common line of thought of mine growing up when we would have thunderstorms. I'm happy to report now that I'm totally over it...well, except when it comes to my Lil Boo. I guess I no longer fear for my own life, just his. ha!

I just couldn't believe that he slept through all of that thunder, but popped right up when I whispered his name. Well played, Lil Boo...well played. ;)

Anyway, it continued to rain all night and into yesterday. In fact, we had so much rain that a lot of our beloved New Braunfels and Gruene, including Schlitterbahn, is under water!

So, we were glad to see the rain end and get out of the house today to play at the park with our playgroup buddies.

Looking like B-man in this one.

Catching a ride with my friend V.

She kept saying, "man, he's heavy..." ha!

Waiting for his turn.

He did a GREAT job taking turns today!

G and A monkeying around.

Lil Boo also had a follow up ultrasound and doctor's appt for his lingering kidney issues yesterday. Let me just say, the ultrasound was a total nightmare! He screamed and bucked and cried and fought me holding him down for a good 30-45 minutes. He was like a little incredible hulk bursting into fits of rage. He sweated so bad that his entire head of hair was soaking wet. I finally wrestled him into a figure four of sorts and the u/s tech was able to get some pictures. He was still fighting me at this time, but all of sudden, he just gave in and totally relaxed and let me hold him and sing to him while she finished (which, I secretly loved b/c he never lets me hold him and sing to him anymore). And then, when she was done, she explained that she was new and someone had to approve her images and that she might have to take more. What??? Are you kidding me???
She returned and said she did in fact have to take more images. Boo was perfect this time around, even laughing at how it tickled. Again, I was thinking...are you kidding me? I mean, I just wrestled you for 45 minutes, and now you think it's a funny game???

Anyhow, the GOOD news is that we went to see the urologist afterwards and he said that the hydronephrosis is greatly improved!! Hallelujer! He said that G should have another u/s in a year just to make sure everything is resolved, but that would hopefully be the end of it all. Woohoo!!! Praises!!

I know this post was long, but it's full of great tidbits that I'd like to have recorded for posterity.

Canyon Lake

We went up to Canyon Lake this weekend and rented a boat from the Army Recreation site there. It started out as a very cloudy day, but really turned out to be beautiful.

We had a great time on the lake. I forgot my memory card for the camera at home, so these pics were taken with the phone. Not too bad.

Driving!

He really was driving.

Sitting by Daddy

Taking a lil swim.

Eating applesauce after a long day on the water.

Have a good week!

Aunt R Visits Texas!

We were so happy to welcome Aunt R to Texas last Tuesday. Boo was ecstatic to see his Aunt R. He was running around the house like a crazy boy the afternoon she arrived. He was definitely showing off for our company. We had a great visit and Boo was a great little host. Here are some photos of what we did while she was here.

We went to the zoo.


And fed some goats. We even tried to ride a goat...

We toured the Alamo.

Went on a river tour and had lunch on the Riverwalk.

Boo and his "in" (the way he says her name).

We went to Schlitterbahn!
B-man got to join us too b/c of the holiday weekend.

Going up the stairs in the tunnel!

Splash!

We wrapped up the trip with a visit to Gruene, TX.

We ate at the Gristmill Restaurant and danced at

Gruene Hall, of course!


Thanks for coming to visit Aunt R! We had a blast!

No pictures, but...

...we got to meet up with the Garza family Friday afternoon/night.

They came up from South Texas last year and decided to do it again this year to stay at the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch. It's an awesome place, complete with lazy river, pools, and water slides.

Claud told me they were coming up some time this May, but I didn't know exactly when...until she called Thursday afternoon to say they were HERE!! I was so happy to hear from her.
Boo and I went over after his nap on Friday and B-man joined us after work. Everyone had a blast and I always enjoy seeing my bud Claudia! We were only together our junior year of high school, but we've remained close friends since then. We had lots of fun that year!

Thanks for inviting us to join in on the fun Garzas. I'm not sure who had more fun, Boo or B-man.
You have an awesome family!

(No pictures b/c I forgot my camera...).

So, you'll just have to look at pics from last year.

Up next...Aunt R is flying in tomorrow to visit us! We couldn't be more excited!

It's Been a While

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything. I don't really have a good excuse either...laziness I suppose. Anyway, here are some pics of our trip to the Children's Museum this past weekend.

"Fishing" at the children's museum.

Kayaking...

Warming our hands by the fire.

A little construction work.

A trip to the bank.

...and grocery store.

A horsey ride.

Daddy helping me water my horse.

Water table fun.

And earlier this week, Boo and I pulled out the pool that B-man picked up for us this weekend. It's that time folks....summer in Texas.

A pool full of balls...so much fun!

Happy Boy!

" This water is COLD!"

We also signed up for swim lessons this week. We'll be going to those in July. And on the pregnancy craving front, B-man found Tom's Salt and Vinegar potato chips at the Exxon gas station just down the road!!!! Woohoo!!!

Hope you're all having a good week.