Pictures from the Trip

I couldn't get the pictures to post correctly with the rest of the update, so they are separately...

Kendall at the hotel

Kendall at the MSC Fountain

Trenton and Kendall under the Century Tree

Kristi and Kendall under the Century Tree

Trenton and Kendall in front of Kyle Field

Trenton and Kendall at the start of the Bonfire Memorial

This was a quote from one of the fallen 12

that I thought was particularly poignant.

Trenton viewing the Center Pole Marker

This is located at the start of the memorial

Kendall loving Daddy at Research Park

College Station Vacation

So you may be wondering if you read the title correctly - College Station and vacation?!? It was actually a very peaceful and fun extended weekend - which is exactly what we had hoped for and definitely needed. A few weeks ago we were discussing the need for a break. We knew that a summer vacation would likely be impossible because of baby #2's arrival mid-July, but we also didn't want our first 'time off' to be with a newborn. We thought about camping, but there were too many unknowns due to Kendall's young age and my rapidly growing belly. We thought about visiting Austin or maybe San Antonio but didn't know how much fun Kendall would really have at this age and neither of us knew too many details about those areas. Then I started thinking 'what about College Station?' Neither of us had been back since Trenton's graduation in August 2003. It was sure to be a quiet weekend on campus - perfect for wheeling a toddler around without looking completely odd and out of place. And for months we had been remembering all the restaurants we wanted to eat at the next time we returned.

So College Station it was. We arrived at an extremely nice Hampton Inn on Thursday and stayed until this morning. As soon as the reservations had been finalized, old memories came flooding back. Suddenly as I lay awake at night, unable to sleep because of acid reflux, I began remembering those first experiences away from home - how horrible and yet exciting it was living in that tiny dorm room with a roommate I hardly knew. I thought back on running for Student Council Secretary - how completely out of my comfort zone that whole experience had been, but how great it was as well. I remembered driving down to College Station that very first time alone to go to Fish Camp and staying - all alone - at the MSC Hotel. All of these moments I wouldn't necessarily want to relive, but what great, bittersweet memories.

And then the memories around Bonfire - what a fun experience it had been my freshman year to have a bonfire buddy and to experience the build up before the big game...and then when it fell my sophomore year. I remembered seeing it from the parking lot of the Barnes and Noble the night before it happened - thinking about what a HUGE structure it was in the dark night. Then the phone call I got in the middle of the night from a close friend in the Corps - stifling back tears as he told me it had fallen. I don't think I'll ever forget how completely quiet the campus was the following week.

So with all these memories swimming in my head, we began the drive Thursday afternoon. Just seeing some of the old speed traps along the way brought back memories - although not all fond ones! The weather couldn't have any better - not too hot and not too humid. The first evening we went to Longhorn Tavern - a restaurant we didn't find until after I'd graduated - but Trenton was dying for one of their chicken fried steaks. Friday we decided to go on campus because the MSC would be closed over the weekend for the holiday. Aside from a couple new student tours, a handful of graduate students, and some professors, we were really the only people wandering around campus. This actually made me feel a lot better - I can't fully describe how weird it was being 7 months pregnant and rolling a 16 month old in a stroller around my old college campus. For lunch we had a delicious meal at Cafe Eccel (the strawberry tart is still THE BEST!) and had a lighter dinner at Blue Baker before walking around Wolfe Pen Creek Park. The following day we went to the Bonfire Memorial and then to play at Research Park. That evening I got to visit with a good friend Renee and then met another awesome friend Justin for dinner at Wings 'n More.

It was a great trip! It's hard to imagine the next time we might go back - the kids may be attending by then!

Growing up...

Kendall is becoming more of a little girl every day...she is adding new words by the day it seems...her favorites at the moment: "Melmo" (aka Elmo - her favorite), "bubbos" (bubbles), "mo juice" (more juice), turto (turtle), and the biggest and most annoying (yet the clearest) "NO". I wish she had never learned that last word, but she says it at least 50 times a day and usually in response to food offers or when we tell her to stop doing something.

I can see her becoming a lot like mommy...when I pick her up from day care she is usually wandering around by herself and I've had multiple people at the church day care mention that she has gone through every book in the nursery. Although she has a fair share of daddy too - she inspects EVERYTHING - really studying it to figure out how it works. So maybe she'll be a literary genius that builds rocket ships on the weekends...

Below are some pictures from last weekend:

Kendall retrieving one of her water toys...she likes to gather them

all in the dog's bowl, but she hates the grass!

Kendall sporting her new jellies!

Wonderful Mother's Day

I would have to say that this has been the best Mother's Day so far...Kendall has been an absolute doll with minimal fussy moments and I couldn't have asked for a better day.

I had already gotten my "big" Mother's Day gift a few weeks ago - a new 16 GB iPod Nano. Ironically enough, I spend more time playing games on it than listening to music but I will definitely say it's a hit. For some reason, there's nothing I find more relaxing lately than wrapping up the day with a little solitare on the Nano - LOL.

This week Kendall made me a beautiful picture at her school - it was a "framed" poem with her two little hand prints in the middle. Even if her contribution may have solely been owning the two hands that made the print, I teared up just the same - I love it!

Today we enjoyed bible study and a great church service, followed by a yummy lunch at Cozymel's. They have this new mini-computer screen at each table, which is great because it kept Kendall busy for at least 20 minutes! Plus, you can check yourself out which made for a quick and easy escape when Kendall started to fuss. All three of us had a leisurely two hour nap at home, followed by a walk in the park, and a trip for Bud's world famous snow cones (well maybe not WORLD famous, but famous in our house anyway).

All in all - a GREAT Mother's Day...thank you so much to Kendall and Trenton!