This week was extra special. My dad is coming to visit. So for his welcome dinner I prepared a roast and homemade pretzels rolls. I was running behind so I had Aaron go to pick him up. Just as he got here the doorbell rang. Aaron insisted that I answer it but I was like I’m good you can get it so Jessie ran to the door. As she was opening the door I came out from the kitchen to see my sister Kathi standing there. I can’t tell you how big of surprise this was for me!! My sister is so good at surprises where I usually ruin a surprise. I guess I almost ruined this one by not picking my dad up at the airport. Anyway to have my dad come is awesome but having Kathi is twice the awesomeness. Oh and she LOVED my homemade pretzel rolls.
This just happens to be transfer week as well as Spring Break for the kids here in the great Texas Houston South. So first thing Monday Aaron and I headed to the airport to pick up our new missionaries. Compared to our last couple of transfers this one was smooth sailing. The group that just arrived is very quiet and rather shy. We have a sister that came in from New Zealand (we’ve had several from Kiwi land) and the rest were elders. We had them with their trainers that night and are departing missionaries in our home for dinner and FHE. Tuesday, we headed to the temple for their last session in the mission field, lunch at Paul’s Pizza and then to the airport to head home. We saw some really great missionaries head home this transfer. They will do great things back home. While we were busy with transfers the kids showed Kathi and my dad around Sugarland taking them to the places they love. Tuesday afternoon we did an escape room, got some trek supplies and the, of course, we had to have dinner at Torchy’s. We have another Torchy lover. ;)
Allie is enjoying California sun and fun with her friends. Beach time is hitting the spot for these sun deprived girls! They spent one day at Disneyland and are grateful that is all they planned for. Lots of fun but a very long day of fun. Hollywood was calling them so they took a quick drive up there to see the sights there. Overall they had a great time but Allie is sure she will never drive to California again. Too much time in the car. ;)
The boys were very resistance in wanting to participate in Trek which starts Wednesday. They had a good excuse to stay home; they are already sacrificing a lot, Kathi and my dad are in town, it is their Spring break, Zac has a cast and has already been to Trek. We saw an opportunity for them to do something hard, get out of the house, meet new kids in the stake, and have a unique experience trekking with handcarts through the bayous in eastern Texas. We had to get them on the bus at 5am on Wednesday and it was a battle the night before and that morning to get them out the door. We recognize all they are doing and they are good boys. Aaron shared with me, he wishes the book of Lehi hadn’t been lost. He would have loved receiving a bit more insight from Lehi on how he was able to kindly persuade Laman and Lemuel to leave Jerusalem. They clearly weren’t willing participants, but they still ended up being obedient and leaving. Lehi obviously knew what was best (like most parents do), and always was trying to be a kind and loving parent, but I’m sure they also had some pretty good talks around the dining room table. Aaron and I really felt Zac and Bode needed to go on Trek even with their protests that we were taking their agency of choosing away. We prayed for soft hearts and kind words though we didn’t witness that immediately but they relented and made it to catch the bus. We continue to pray that they will be open to having a good experience as they participate on trek.
My dad, Kathi, Jessie and I headed to Herman Park for a day out. The most difficult part was being patient in finding a parking spot. Once parked, we enjoyed walking around to see all the park had to offer. The Houston Zoo, train ride, paddle boots, Miller outdoor amphitheater, several playgrounds and trails. Jessie and Kathi demonstrated their gymnastic bars skills for us. I attempted as well but with a big fail. ;) Another day is needed to enjoy all that is available at Herman Park.
We headed to Galveston Island Wednesday morning. We drove through old downtown to Stewart beach. We stopped at Pleasure Pier play on the beach and then visit a gift a quaint but large gift shop. Afterwards we drove towards Jamaica Beach driving through multiple beach home neighborhoods and enjoyed looking at all the multi-colored houses. We stopped at one more beach before heading back up the 45 to go to Kemah Boardwalk. Being in Texas, we had to stop at Buccee’s so Kathi could experience a rest stop the size of a Walmart with just about the same offerings. When we made it to Kemah we walked around enjoying some people watching and looking for a place to eat that we all could enjoy. Dad wanted fish and the rest of us did not. ;) We ended up driving to Baybrook to a Mexican restaurant that had fish tacos and food for the rest of us. ;)
And like that Kathi’s visit is over. ;) I took her to the airport to catch her flight this Friday afternoon. I think my favorite part of her visit was talking to her face to face. It was so good to have her here in Texas. I hope I inspired her to take her next family vacation to Galveston beach. She loves beach vacations and I do have a beach for her to come to.
Today we picked up the boys from trek. It was only a four hour drive each way so we were super excited to be in the car for eight hours today. We were excited to see the boys and hear about their experience especially since Zac was on crutches it the entire way. I’ll share an update on their experience next week.