Cruisin'

Paul and I went on a cruise to celebrate the fact that we've made it 7 years without taking that "till 'DEATH' do us part" thing too literally.  Just kidding.  By the Grace of God, the good times have far outweighed the bad and we've been blessed with a happy marriage and two absolutely wonderful little boys.  I am thankful every day that God allows me to spend my life with this man who loves me so much and who is the best father ever to our boys.  I love you Paul.  Thank you for loving me back!!

Towel Art

You can buy books on board to teach you how to do this, but we didn't want to spoil the magic. 

We were scheduled to leave Galveston at 4:00 Saturday afternoon but they had a lot of supplies to load and we ended up leaving several hours late.  I didn't think much of it (except that they couldn't open the casino until we were at sea and I was looking forward to playing roulette) because we were supposed to be at sea all day Sunday and dock in Progresso about 8:00 Monday morning.  We made it to Progresso by 8:00 Monday morning all right, but we had to make up time to get there.  I spent Sunday morning sick because the ride was so bumpy.  But thanks to Dramamine, a good nap, and a sweet hubby by the afternoon I was able to enjoy the festivities.  This was that first morning...

   

I was really wondering what I'd gotten myself into!!

On Monday we docked in Progresso.  The boat we were on was called the Ecstasy but we actually honeymooned on the Fantasy.  We didn't realize it, but now the Fantasy does the same exact cruise as the Ecstasy but leaves from New Orleans.  When we got off of our boat the Fantasy was "parked" next to us! 

We weren't very impressed with Progresso, but mostly because the tour company we were with was horrible and we literally almost missed the boat that afternoon.  We did see some Mayan ruins that were very interesting. 

The view from the top of one of the structures.

           Posing on one of the pyramids

That night we had a Midnight Buffet Mexican Feast.  All of the food on board was AMAZING - Except the desserts that is.  We're not sure why, but they were all horrible!  They were pretty though!!!

 

Cozumel was our favorite.  We went on an ATV tour through the jungle where we got so muddy that we threw away our shoes when we got back to the boat, but had an absolute blast doing it!

So after our ATV tour we did a little sight-seeing in Cozumel.  We ate lunch at an authentic Mexican restaurant that was amazing, and did a "Little" bit of shopping...

See all those bags my hubby's carrying?  Yeah, most of them are full of pottery!!  We brought lots of Talevera pottery back to my mom & aunt - and none of it got broken!!

We had such an amazing time.  Thanks Mom & Aunt Nelda, for taking care of all FOUR of our boys for us and allowing us to relax and enjoy each other!  And Paul, thanks for 7 wonderful years. I hope for 70 more with you.  I love you!!

The Pumpkin Patch

I wanted to get some pics of the boys at the pumpkin patch, so off we went.  This was actually the weekend after Paul and I got home from Mexico, (I'll post pics from that later), so we were both beat, but it was our last chance to go.  Nathan was more interested in jumping in the bounce houses and doing all of the other fun activities there than in posing for pics, but we managed to get a few not-too-shabby ones, and we all had a good time, too.

This was actually our first family outing to a pumpkin patch - yes, we're bad parents - but I'd say it was a success.  Joseph posed for some super sweet pictures and Nathan played on every bouncy-thing there.  Paul and I had a good time too.  I just love our little family.  :)

Ok, Ok, I'll Update...

Since I haven't updated since August, and my good friend Lisa resorted to begging, I guess I'll get busy updating you all on the Perot Happenings.

August...

Here's a pic of Nathan on his first day of Pre-K. I can't believe my sweet baby boy is really off to 5 day a week school!! I am so, so proud of him. He's already learned so much and his 1st 9 weeks report card was excellent. His teacher says he's really good in class and he must have lots of friends there because the whole class runs to greet him when we walk in every morning. He's still as sweet as ever!!

Here's a pic from a family trip to the Fort Worth Zoo...in August. :) Nonnie and Poppa were in town that weekend, too. This was on the train ride from the back of the zoo to the entrance. We'd already walked the whole zoo and were a little hot and tired...did I mention it was AUGUST, and we live in TEXAS??? Not the best pic, but these days getting all 4 of us in one pic is nothing short of a miracle!

September meant Joseph's First Birthday. I took these pics a few weeks before he actually turned 1, but I thought they turned out pretty cute. Don't let these fool you, he and I fought for what seemed like hours to get a few good shots. He's a handful!!

His actual b-day is September 22, which was a Tuesday this year. That night we just ate dinner at my aunt's house and had some cupcakes, which he LOVED - obviously!!

For his birthday party we "tailgated" at Aunt Nelda's house. He was a popular little guy with family here from 3 states! We all had a great time. Thanks again for hosting Aunt Nelda!!!

October had some exciting events as well...

First of all, Nathan's class went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. I went with them so I got this picture of his very first school bus ride. He was BEYOND excited that he was getting to ride a bus, even though the buses at his school aren't yellow. I just thought this was sweet.

Go ahead. Just TRY to get 14 excited 4 year olds to all look at the camera at once, I dare you. Yeah, not happening. This was the best we could do, but hey, we all survived!

Look for near future posts featuring Nathan and Joseph at our family outing to the pumpkin patch, Halloween, and the cruise to Mexico that Paul and I took for our anniversary.

Beach Pics

A few weekends ago we ventured south for a visit with my brother and his girlfriend. It was exciting for several reasons...

1. Don't tell Cameron, but he's in LOVE!!!! He and Ryan are obviously meant for each other and it is so much fun to be with them. He fits perfectly into her family, and she fits perfectly into ours too. We are SO excited and happy for them!

2. We got to meet Ryan's family for the 1st time. They were wonderful to us and made the whole visit comfortable and fun. THANKS EVERYONE!!!! We had a GREAT time!!!

3. Ryan made an AMAZING dinner for us that night. Thanks Ryan, everything was delicious!!

4. Nathan and I rode uncle Cam's horse, Doc. Ryan's house is on the same property as her parents' house and also her grandparents' house. They have a lighted riding arena so we were able to ride after dark, aka after it cooled off a little.

5. WE WENT TO THE BEACH!!! On Sunday we all went to Galveston to the beach. There were so many of us we had to take 3 vehicles! It was an absolutely wonderful day. The boys both loved the beach. We also had dinner at a very nice seafood restaurant and shopped around downtown Galveston.

Sorry some of the pics are so small. I guess the setting on the camera was too little. I tried to stretch them a little so you could see them better- that's why they're a little fuzzy. The jist of it is that we all had a fantastic time and can't wait to go back to see "Aunt" Ryan and Uncle Cameron again. We love you guys!!!!

Paul's 20 year high school reunion was this past weekend. This pic was taken in his dad's backyard before the Saturday night event. We had a great time visiting with our friends Shawn & Marja Liner. Paul and Shawn have been friends since high school and stood up for each other when they got married. Shawn & Marja have a daughter, Maggie, who was born 14 hours before Nathan. As you can see, Nathan & Maggie are great friends even though they only get to see each other once or twice a year. Destiny???? We'll see...

These are just some fun pics I've taken of the boys recently. I'm sure you'll agree that they are absolutely adorable!!

Joseph turned 10 months old a few weeks ago. It's so hard to believe we're already making birthday plans! He's still trying to figure out crawling, but seems to enjoy trying. When you've got 24 lbs to lift it's kinda hard, after all! I, in the meantime, am enjoying the fact that he ISN'T mobile yet!

Nathan starts to Pre-K in a few weeks. I am SO not ready for him to be in school 5 days a week! It just does not seem like he should already be starting school. He's totally fine with school- at least once he gets there. He's a little like his Momma & Daddy in that he doesn't like getting up in the mornings, but once we get there he darts off to play with his friends. I have to beg for bye-bye hugs!!

This weekend we're heading for Houston. My brother's girlfriend, Ryan, lives there, so we're going to go stay a few nights with her. We're going to drive to Galveston on Sunday to spend the day at the beach. We are all SO excited! This will be our first time to meet Ryan's family and we are really looking forward to it. We LOVE, LOVE Ryan and can't wait to see her and Uncle Cam!