Moody Garden's

Andy thought it was high time we went and did something fun outside of the house as a family, so he planned a trip to Moody Garden's in Galveston. I was a little worried about the destruction from the hurricane last year, but it seemed to have no lingering issues and we had a great time. It's definitely an older attraction and a bit overpriced, but it's the fun we had that really counts. We all had a great time and were very tired by the end of the day! Thanks Andy for making a fun day for us all :)

Moody Gardens: 3 AND 4-D

There was a movie about dolphins and whales in 3-d that the kids semi enjoyed. They liked the first part and then it got a bit long for them, but it was definitely interesting. We tried to do a dinosaur 4-D movie experience, but it worked out about as good as the 'Honey I shrunk the Kids' one at Disney Land...they freaked. So we saw approximately 2.5 seconds of that one :)

Why do I have such a weird neck? It's very giraffe, or turtle like. Funny!

Moody Gardens: Boat Ride

Everyone on the back deck looking at the paddle turning.

Andy trying to divvy out the lunches without losing Kaylee through the holes of the boat.

Inside the cabin portion of the boat there was a little dance floor where the kids had a great time. Tyler and Audrie started off by playing human checkers, but quickly realized two people weren't enough...so they moved on to chess...HA! Kaylee clearly understood the purpose of the floor and was dancing away.

Tyler and I in front of the great 'Colonel'. Very old, kind of gross, but still fun :)

Moody Garden's Aquarium

We all loved the aquarium, especially Kaylee, Andy and I. It is always just so cool to see the underwater world to me. Kaylee made friends with one of the penguins, which I was informed by Tyler was called a macaroni penguin (Thanks Diego! Go Diego Go!). She was so good while we were touring the gardens and everything for that matter. She loved every bit of it.

Here's one of the coolest aquariums there.

Andy's Birthday

We celebrated Andy's birthday on the 17th and had a great time. I loved this picture simply because Kaylee is so cute, but is clearly doing exactly NOT what we wanted her to. She's smiling alright, but not for me...for the soon to be tasted cake.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY!! You're a fabulous father and husband. I love you :)

Best BUDS!

We were fortunate enough to be able to go down to Lake Jackson and visit the Ricker family. Tyler and Peyton have always been great friends ever since we moved here. They moved a while back and we have only seen them when they come and visit our area, so we thought it was time to go to see them. They had a FABULOUS time, indicative of their very sweaty faces.

Another side note: Tyler says the sweetest prayers for Peyton. No matter the future of Peyton I know that Tyler and him will continue to be friends forever!

Random Pictures

Here are some very random pictures, but ones I wanted to capture. First off is a picture of Kaylee putting smiley stickers on my face and nose. There is a picture of Audrie doing this exact thing when she was about this age. Super cute.












The next picture captures a common game at our house. Audrie is the queen, but Kaylee takes a close second :) We are professional puppies quite often. We bark, we lick and we nuzzle...fortunately very few bites at this point. Training is still in progress.

You know we've been lucky never to have any major issues with any babysitters, any accidents, problems, etc. That ended a few weeks ago. Andy and I walked in after a date to find the babysitter wrapping her finger in toilet paper. In a very bubbly, excited way began explaining to me how she couldn't get the can opener to work, followed by reenacting exactly how she used a knife to STAB the entire can open....with my brand new knife set. Well needless to say she cut herself, with our very sharp brand new knives. Fortunately it wasn't bad, but the point is it could have been. It didn't end there. As we were cleaning up the spilled juice on the floor, with pieces of corn bread stuck to it we found shards of glass everywhere. I couldn't help but think of the babysitter that vacuumed up my sisters (Jami) vomit when we were little :)

The Moral of the Story: Never try to cut a can open with a knife. Clean up after yourself and please tell the parents when you make a mistake.

Col Whicker and the U-2 Spy plane

I grew up as an Air Force brat and am proud to have a Dad that worked to protect our country. He was a pilot and flew many planes, but in my humble opinion this one was the coolest. I remember him coming home with his helmet, his space gloves and on occasion samples of tubed space food. YUM! We even were able to watch him get suited up once. Anyway, as I watched this video it brought all of those memories together with a fuller appreciation of what my father was able to do, see and feel.

Top pic is of my Dad via 1988 before venturing on another adventure. Also make sure to watch the video, it's awesome. I just find it very touching due to the fact that my dear ol' Dad was apart of that amazing experience many times over again. Take a Look :)

2nd Quilt Attempt X2

So a really neat family in our ward were able to adopt two brand new baby boy twins a few weeks ago. I really wanted to make them something special considering their journey to this point. I always feel connected when I hear stories about adopted babies due to my sweet sister Katie girl! Anyway, I made two quilts, both being slightly different due to my understanding of being a twin and not minding being similar, but desiring to be a little different. They were fun to make and I was happy with the way they turned out. I am learning a lot as I go, but I still have lots to learn :)

Kaylee's Birthday

You may not be able to tell in this picture, but she was trying REALLY hard to make her two little fingers stand up to show that she was two. It was really difficult and didn't last very long...but pretty cute shot if you ask me. She's turning into quite the little beauty.

Playing with her birthday gifts. We had to celebrate for two days since she was turning two as well as the fact that we drove up to Dallas that evening. So we did gifts and birthday wishes on her actual birthday and then cake and coloring the following day. She didn't seem to mind at all!

Imagine making the "F" sound with your teeth...now imagine trying to blow two candles out doing that same thing. If you need any advice on how to do that correctly and successfully, just ask Kaylee, she seems to be on to something.

After birthday coloring with Daddy. What a life, eh?

My Little Chefs

So you know those days when you're trying to get things done and you're forever answering to the children by saying, "Just a minute... not right now... I've just got to get this done..." ? Well, unfortunately they come all to often for the Hart household (specifically by Mama Hart) and so this summer I decided to make it a goal to include them in those never ending, "just a minute till I'm done" projects. I primarily have focused on big jobs like laundry, cleaning and making dinner. Fortunately it has turned into such a wonderful thing. They LOVE to help with dinner...it's so fun and SO fulfilling to my heart. They usually whine when I first ask them, but as soon as those "lil' chef" aprons go on their eyes get big and their smiles start spreading. It makes my heart so happy :) Tyler took a couple of these pictures, so that's why he's not in them, but he is one of my best helpers!

Ants in the House

Anyone who has lived in the south knows about Ants, specifically fire ants. They build these HUGE mounds in your backyard, and seem to find their way into your house at least a couple of times a year. This summer it has been out of control. I'm sure it's because we've had the hottest and driest summer EVER. Andy has always consistently sprayed the inside and outside of our home, but it just is not cutting it. Needless to say the pest control guys are coming today.

Last week we woke up to a stream of ants making their way across our counter top. Andy made sure to kill them all, but since he had to hurry to work he didn't wipe up their remnants. So they remained on the counter top with a large sign that said, "DANGER." Tyler walked into the kitchen, took one look and said, "MOM! Do you know any antiologists??" To which I replied, "No hon, I sure don't!" Gotta love his ability to think of such awesome words :)