Hello Texas

Howdy Ya'll!

Of course, we went to Texas for 4th of July....figured that we needed a dose of small town for a few days =) The drive was long (10.5 hours) that lasted through the night, but we made it just in time to rest enough for the fireworks show that evening. My oldest brother (Shiloh) is a fireman and so it was fun to see him put out the little fires that ignited during the fireworks show!

It was very windy, which is why Robert and Josiah have such funny expressions in this picture. The wind was blowing in their face while watching fireworks:

Thursday was a day spent in Amarillo! My brother, Shiloh, is getting married in December and so we were able to visit with her and become acquainted with her (Jessica) and her son, Jadon. We went to the "Texas!" show that evening that is in the Palo Duro Canyon. The Palo Duro Canyon is the 2nd largest canyon in the World! The "Texas!" show is a history of the Texas Panhandle set in a musical format, very fun!

Friday was spent a'shootin' out in the middle of nowhere, texas! My mom loved to shoot but my sister was especially excited. I was surprised to find that the power of every gun is different! My mom's handgun didn't have nowhere near as much "kick" as mine.....I'm a little envious! Of course, a lot of folks are telling me I'm being a wimp and that a .22 is for sissy's and that I should be happy with the 380, but whatever! =)

When we left on Saturday, we forgot to put Rachel in the car and so she is still there in Texas...whoops......just kiddin' =) She is still there (as planned) having fun with her Papa, Nana, and Auntie "silly". We will go and bring her home as soon as she's ready! For now, it's garage cleaning time! =)

I hope that you all had a great 4th of July week also!

Stars & Sprinkles =)

The Sunday before 4th of July we decided to make something fun for our Sunday School bus riders. I just had to share the delicious "cuteness" :)

Polka dots and hot pink anyone?

At campmeeting one night while I was up in choir practice, Rachel came running up as usual to "sing" with the rest of us. That's when Sis. Jacqueline noticed that her and Rachel were matching! They both even had on pink shoes!!!! I was so awesome that everyone wanted a picture =)

Here is the navy polka dot and pink duo:

Siblings and friends, etc....

The other day I couldn't help but snap a pic of Rachel and Josiah taking a nap.....too cute. Of course Josiah awoke immediately after I moved the pillows away from his face. He likes to bury his face when he sleeps and is scares me!

Now, Rachel and Joel have a long standing friendship....as we all know, lol :) Josiah and Lacey have become quite the little friends....they argue very well :)

You will see below their argument over a book at our place:

What?:

Josiah decided to get in on the pic:

This book, Josiah wanted:

No! Lacey wanted it too! :

Chelsea says "distraction":

I wonder...will Josiah and Lacey be as close as these two? Time will tell :)

(p.s. they were standing like this randomly, there was a man across the street playing "twinkle, twinkle, little star" on his guitar and they were totally loving the song and singing along!)

Friends, ya gotta love em'!

Snap it!

Below is Robert trying to get Josiah's attention at SeaWorld for a picture...by snapping.

Now Rachel decided to snap too!

So cute!

Seaworld and San Diego (long post with lots of pics)

A couple of weeks ago we went to SeaWorld in San Diego. It was so nice to get away from the heat and just relax in the coastal air! The hotel we stayed at was called Town & Country Resort and was beautiful! At first I was a little worried because after booking it on Priceline, I read many bad reviews. I always book through their "name your own price" bididng option and get really superb deals. This time we paid $60 a night and although I was worried after reading reviews, I was pleasantly surprised. This resort was full of old world charm and had the feel of a quaint bed & breakfast, yet it really was a sprawling resort with a golf course and many restaurants on site. Below are some pics I took of Rachel while waiting to leave for dinner out in front of our hotel room door...the place was covered with rose gardens, fountains, etc.

We headed for Filippi's Pizza Grotto for dinner in Little Italy and were greeted with a line out of the front door. We happily stood in line and enjoyed the weather while waiting.

Rachel had seen the Trolly go by and decided to take the chairs and turn them to resemble the "train"...

She sat and began to yell "ding, ding, ding! All aboarrrrd!!! Are you ready? Get on!!!!" It was hilarious to see the look on folks faces as Rachel was in her own make believe world =)

The "market" we stood in while in line:

After dinner (Oregano's here in Arizona is better by the way) we headed down for a walk near the harbor area. Rachel loved looking at the "Pirate ships":

Saturday morning was cold and foggy, aka "beautiful", and we headed out for SeaWorld, eager to have some fun. Once in the gates we were greeted by a happy otter:

We paid for the all day dining pass so we ate first and then headed for the star fish:

On the sky ride....I got sick! I didn't throw up but was on the verge. Every time the wind would blow and the carrier swayed a bit I would almost lose it. I was having an anxiety attack and couldn't understand it! I ride roller coasters, climb up high mountains and look down...but that sky ride was horrible for me...I think I will pass on those from now on (can I get an "Amen" Chelsea?!):

Josiah was thinking the shows were pretty interesting while Rachel was not too impressed. It wasn't like when we were kids when we got to see the animals DO something besides jump out of the water and back down into it. It is way different now and involved theatrical performances such as professional divers, etc. It was more like a Broadway show over and over again, only with the same plot...jump into the water! LOL Since Rachel has been to a lot of theatrical productions (yes, we're kinda artsy fartsy) she didn't see what the big deal was after the first show, and definately didn't want to sit still for 30 minutes prior (in order to get good seats). We did sit in all of the "splash" zones, and that was lots of fun =)

Since the shows were not Rachel's favorite, we spent a lot of time on Sesame Street where she was able to meet up with some friends of hers:

Pre-show....Starring....Rachel! Are you surprised?! She would stand right in front before the show and literally entertain everyone! Once she was dancing in such a ridiculous fashion that people were laughing and dancing along with her...to HER beat of course =)

At the end of the day, Josiah looked like this:

Of course, by the time we got back to our hotel, we all looked the same =)

 All in all, it was a fun time just to be together and relax.

I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful little family full of love!

Serving God is beautiful...

Ok, so I have had this melody stuck in my head and my heart all morning and I just had to share:
"Serving God is beautiful, serving the King of Kings.
 I serve Him because I love Him you see,
serving God is beautiful to me!
(Copyright, Nelon Music Co. 1986)

If only this could stay in everyones spirit! No matter what today brings, I have determined that serving God is just so beautiful! I am sooooo thankful that even when times are hard AND when times are great, I always have such a beautiful life because of the Lord. Just smile to yourself and say "serving God is so beautiful", trust me, tears of joy most likely will come to your eyes and will make everything worth it all =)

Romans 12:11
"Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;"