Brett, Heather, Kayla, and Tyson

Brett, Heather, Kayla, and Tyson
Brett, Heather, Kayla, and Tyson

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Texas State Aquarium

This last week, our great friends, Mark, Emily and Noah Hendricks came for a visit. Emily was one of my first friends at college and we were roommates for a couple years. Mark works for American Airlines, so they get a great deal on flights and we were so excited they decided to come visit us again this year! They arrived Monday night and we took them to our favorite Mexican restaurant here in Mcallen - Costa Messa. Its SOOOO good! The next day, we got up bright and early and headed to Corpus Christi to visit the Texas State Aquarium! Brett got some discounted tickets because he's the media. Oh, the perks of his job! :)

The aquarium is pretty great! They have turtles, sea otters, sharks, and a really great dolphin show! I love that Kayla is able to experience so many things already in her young life. She's already done more than I had done by the time I was 20. :)

Our little family at the awesome entrance to the Aquarium
The kids were so excited to be there!

We love turtles!
They get so huge!
Look at those two! She's looking more and more like Brett. 

Waiting to feed the sting rays. I fed one and it kind of freaked me out. 
Me getting ready to feed the sting rays.

This is the sweetest photo I've ever seen! They look like they're posing for an engagement or something!
This underwater viewing room was wonderful! I was able to nurse while watching dolphins
in an airconditioned room. It was awesome.

She loved the dolphins!


Family photo with the dolphins!

They had an awesome show with several different birds and animals.

Look at the beautiful colors!


No, this is not a clip from Finding Nemo! It was fun seeing the two types of fish together.

Watching the waves at Corpus Christi

In front of the air craft carrier.
Emily and Noah were so excited for the show to start!

So, I was selected to be a judge for the "Dolphin Olympics!"
I was getting the run-down of our responsibilities
They put on a pretty good show.
Lots of cool jumps!


The 3rd Judge was a bit harsh and the dolphins got upset! 
Those dolphins let us know what they thought of us!
The lady mentioned we would get a bit wet......that was an understatement!

Yeah, I got really really wet!
After I got to join the audience, we got splashed again! The kids were not exactly happy about it.
So I got even more wet. And Kayla did too.
Despite the discomfort that comes with wet clothes, it was really fun and a great show!
Watching the sting rays

We all got to touch this snake.



Checking Noah's wingspan! 
I seriously could watch Dolphins all day long. They're such magnificent creatures. 
Brett and the Sea Horses


Noah and the Sea Horses
The porcupine was awake during the day just long enough to eat so it
was cool that we got to see him. His face was really cute!
This fish kind of creeped me out. It stared at Kayla for awhile. I kept thinking
that it could eat her if it wanted to!

After the aquarium, we went to visit the Selena memorial. I have loved that movie ever since my high school Spanish teacher showed it to us and since living in the Valley, I've gained an even greater appreciation for her. This wall is featured in the movie when the family dances on it.

We are sad that she passed away.

Emily and I  trying to mimic the pose of Selena in her statue.
Me on the stairs in front of the harbor.

It was a great day with great weather. I love aquariums and especially loved the dolphin shows at this one. It was just like Sea World in that sense. Its fun to explore the different things Texas has to offer! And it was especially great to be able to share the trip with our friends. 

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Adventures in Babysitting!

Its funny how things work out. That's the lesson I've learned lately. When I had Kayla, we talked a lot about how I could earn money to help out while Brett finishes up school. Obviously, we decided that it would work out well for me to go back to the hospital. I've been so blessed to have a schedule that works around Brett's. 

Prior to this, we had discussed the option of me offering to babysit for a friend who was about to have a baby so I could stay home and earn money without going back to work. The more we thought about that, the more it didn't seem right at the time. And it would have been a difficult situation in that particular case, I now realize.

Fast forward a few months, and I receive a random phone call from someone I met at church. We've only been acquainted briefly. Brett knows her and her husband a bit better from the Youth Trek he participated in a few months ago, but I didn't know them well at all. She called and asked me if I would babysit her son who is almost three. I immediately felt good about it. Brett and I considered it and prayed about it and decided to do it. 

So, meet Iosepa! (pronounced yo-sep-a, which is Joseph in Fijian) He has been coming 4 or 5 days a week to our house. He's a very well behaved boy. He didn't play with Kayla much at the start, but is warming up to her day by day. (She's a social butterfly, I'm learning). It's been a bit of a learning curve having a little boy around. Even though I babysat a lot when I was younger, it was mostly girls and I have no brothers. Thankfully, he's well potty trained! 

I can't help but feel that this is such a blessing for us. On days that I work, Brett stays home with both kids, and I think Iosepa likes Brett better than me! Maybe its a guy thing. :) My shifts at the hospital are getting fewer and fewer, so this just happened to be perfect timing, financially. 

I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father is always looking out for us, meeting our needs before we even know we have them! 

Iosepa's first day!


Making a couch fort

Oh, to have that energy!

This is actually a funny story. He was stalling drinking his milk so I told him he had to finish it before he could leave the table. He was playing around on his chair and I was cleaning up lunch. He started crying a bit and I looked over to find him stuck in the chair! I tried pulling him down and realized his head was too big to fit! I panicked, wondering what I was going to do! Then I realized he had slid down into that position, so I pushed him up through and all was well. Phew!
Daily lunch date!

Kayla thinks these two are best buds! He's warming up to the idea. :)
Good thing girls are persuasive!

I love that Kayla has a playmate. He's getting much better at sharing and playing nice.
I'm sure it will be great for her when she has younger siblings.

Playing at the park in our neighborhoo!

Kayla is fascinated with Iosepa. She watches his every move.


Out for a walk. Thank goodness its finally cooling down a little bit!