Sisters and Cousins

When I called my sister Michelle for her birthday, we had a nice talk and I told her how lonely I am feeling these days. She called me back the next day and said, "Guess what Sheldon got me for my birthday... Tickets to Houston!" I was so happy! She planned to come a few weeks later. Sam left town the day she and Keaton flew in so I got to go to the airport twice that day. And then the fun began! Twelve days of hanging out with my sister and nephew. It was awesome.

The first full day, we wandered the Galleria. It is much too big of a mall to stroll around with three kids. We were quite a sight.

Because we hadn't learned our lesson the day before, we went shopping again. The boys were restless and they were sprinting all around the store. It was hilarious.

Alex and Keaton playing at the department store. They broke the arm off of the mannequin.

Right before I left to the airport, we discovered that we had broken the garbage disposal. When I got back with Sam, Michelle and I fixed it. Luckily, the garbage disposal wasn't really broken, we had just clogged a pipe with egg shells. What is with having guests over turning into a broken garbage disposal though? This happened in Pennsylvania when the Warnicks came to visit us and then it happened when we went to visit the Warnicks in Columbus for Thanksgiving. Please note that only one of these times was my fault.

We went to the Astros game. The Astros are awful, but the game was awesome. It was Star Wars night. They came to our section to do a giveaway but there weren't enough people in the winning row so they had people in the surrounding area gather together. I told Sam to climb over the seats and go get some free Star Wars Pez. They came to film the group. They started out showing the whole group and then zoomed in on Sam and Alex and just stayed there the whole time. Long enough for my slow camera to take multiple pictures! Alex was being adorable.

Alex and Keaton love water. They spent two hours in the pool in the backyard. Even after all that time, it was hard to get them to come inside.

This video of Keaton and Alex playing in the pool is adorable. I love Alex's laugh.



Alex and Keaton playing Peek-A-Boo.

We all went to playgroup together. It was fun to introduce Michelle to some women I work with in Young Womens (they are the only ones who come to playgroup).

We went to Toddler Time at the library. Alex is starting to learn the songs and it makes it even better to go each week.

That night, we went to Bob's Taco Station. Alex and Keaton decided that the salsa was so delicious that they should just drink it; chips are superfluous, you know? While eating, a waiter came up to us and asked us if we drove a green car. Michelle thought he asked if we had a green card. I laughed so hard that it almost made it okay that we had a flat tire. Lucky day, it was also pouring rain and had been for a few hours. Sam and Michelle were soaked from changing the tire, and the boys were very bored.

We made multiple trips to Sonic, played lots of games, and spent lots of time killing ants. The boys also took lots of baths together. The floor was soggy by the end of each bath.

We got to watch Conference together in our bed because our TV is in our room. That was kind of crazy. Surprisingly, I got a lot out of Conference. Michelle... not so much. Oopsies.

We went to Galveston Island. There is an awesome ferry that you can ride for free. Most people were on it for their commute, but we were just sightseeing. The boys loved it. Alex talked about boats for days afterward. He would bite his sandwich, and suddenly it was a boat. He was really into the cars/trucks on the ferry, boats, and birds we saw.

We were sitting on a park bench eating our sandwiches when a homeless man asked me if I had a cigarette. I said, "No, I don't smoke." Later, he came by again and said, "You hate people who smoke, don't you?" Nope. But even if I did, why is he pressuring me for not having a cigarette. He never asked for money or food. He just asked for a cigarette and then freaked out when I didn't have one.

We went to a Oil Rig Museum. My knowledge of the industry has gone up about 95%. It was very informative and it was great to have a little peek into the type of company where Sam works.

That night for FHE, Sam, Michelle, and I were all doing the Hokey Pokey while the little boys just stared at us. They never did join in.

The day they were flying out, we packed in the fun. First we went to a Indian temple. It was stunning. I want to go there again. They invite all visitors and advertise their worship times so people can come watch. The temple was brought to Texas from India in thousands of pieces. Each pillar was brought in nine pieces. It was incredible. They also had a visitor's center so we could learn more about their religion. While in the temple, we had to take off our shoes and Michelle was asked to wear a sarong (we still aren't sure why she had to wear one and I didn't). While the guy was showing us around, he acted surprised that we had never been to India to see the biggest temple there. Umm, yeah, we have never been to India. I almost felt guilty for never having been there.

We went to the Houston Fire Museum after that. Alex was all about turning on the siren in the little fire truck. It happened to be the Museum's play group day. We joined in on the fun craft and Alex and Keaton got to make a trick or treating bag.

We went to Costco where Keaton proceeded to have a full meltdown. We bought four boxes of diapers and three boxes of wipes. It was a tight fit because Michelle's luggage and stroller were in the car, too. The boys were so tired, they were all asleep before we even left the parking lot.

 

I am so glad I have such a great sister who was willing to drop everything and come be my friend when I needed her. I loved Alex and Keaton spending so much time together and hope to have many more opportunities to watch them play together. I love my family!