Happy New Year!!

Well, one of my resolutions is to do a better blog job. I have contemplated stopping the blog but realized that it really helps my during the summer when I scrapbook.
Our New Year's was spent with our good friends in Houston and their three. We headed down on Monday and took the dinner from Don Juan's. When they were up here while escaping Hurricane Ike, we introduced DJ's to them and they really liked it. So, for their Christmas present, we took some down. it is amazing to me the K can eat a whole kiddo burrito!! Such a big boy!! On Tuesday, the three of us headed to Sugarland to see what all was going on there. We lived in Fort Bend County for the majority of our time in Houston and miss it terribly. We drove around to see what all have been built (Which is tons!!) and stopped by the town square. There are tons of shops and a really cool fountain. We got out of the car to go to a toy shop before meeting a friend and her family for lunch. Surprise, surprise!! K had peed out of his diaper - a first!! We had no extra clothes on hand. We hopped back in the truck and headed to the mall that is next to the town square and bought some jeans. We had time to change and head over to Lupe Tortilla's for lunch. We meet Heidi and her family there. C met her at TAMUG and they have remained in touch since then. We went to Heidi and Dan's wedding (on the beach!!) and have watched their family grow to include two beautiful children. Dan has worked in the hotel industry for years and they have lived all over the Caribbean and are water lovers. It was such a good time! The last time we had seen each other was their wedding which was over ten years ago but it felt like we had seen each other a month ago. Their kids were so fun! Their son brought part of his rock collection to show us - very cool! Their daughter wanted to show off her new Sketchers shoes. And they love queso!! So much so that Dan ordered a second bowl of queso. The waiter brought it and it was a small bowl. The kids were like, "Well, that's not going to last." Needless to say, they are kids after my own heart! After lunch, we headed back to the town square and walked around. K loved the fountains and having Ben and Jerry's ice cream! Our next stop was to drive by our old house. We still love that house and miss it. If would, we would have moved it up here with us. We were sad to learn that it had foreclosed but were totally overjoyed when we pulled up in front of a well manicured lawn! And it looks like the Griswolds have moved in. The interesting thing is that we could see the trees that we planted in the backyard. They have grown so much that we could see them over the house! That was totally cool since we did everything to that backyard including putting in sod! We took the long way home so that K could nap.
The next day we decided to give M&A a break and took K and their two oldest to Galveston. What a treat it was to see the three of them in the backseat in their carseats!! It was really cute when the two boys feel asleep and were leaning the same way! We were anxious to get to Galveston to see how things were going after the hurricane. We had seen little signs even on our way to M&A's house (signs down or twisted, etc). As we approached the causeway, things became more drastic. On Tiki Island, there were many houses missing. Once over the causeway, it really hit home. There were boats in odd places, like front yards. There were houses gone. There were lots of stores and businesses closed but more were opened that I had expected. We immediately headed to the Seawall. Upon getting there, things looked pretty normal. We took a left onto the seawall. The most interesting sight was that the fishing pier was completely gone. The sign for it was still there but it wasn't. We turned around and headed back down the seawall towards our lunch spot. We took the kids to Rainforest Cafe. K didn't like all the animals moving AT ALL!! He would cry and grab for C since he was sitting next to K. Ev got scared at first but we explained that they were pretend to help us learn more about the animals without being in danger. The other E didn't care one way or the other. I will say it was interesting at lunch. K ate like a madman but the other two didn't seem to want to eat which meant no dessert =(. We had talked about taking the kids to the beach but it got colder so we just drove around the island afterwards. We went down the seawall and saw all the damage to the Flagship. That's the hotel that sits in the water. The bridge was still pretty much washed out and you could see through part of the first floor. Next to the Flagship was the remains of the the Balinese Room and the other buildings that were in the water. All that was left was part of one building and the support poles. The Balinese's entrance was a there but there was nothing else. Very sad considering the history of the place. If you want more info, just ask! We then headed to the Strand side of the island. That was hard since the majority of businesses were still closed. Some had "We'll be back" signs and quite a few had for lease signs. Someone had put up a tape line that showed were the water level was - SCARY!! And, always showing there is humor in everything, someone had gotten crafty. On most store windows, they list what the shop sells. One shop had "Sunglasses, Beach towels, Shells, Ecoli." We cracked up! We also visited TAMUG and it survived very well. The students should be able to return this month for Spring semester. We then headed mainland to meet some college buds for ice cream. We literally took over the place. I guess with three kids, it happens. We headed back hoping the kid would nap - NO SUCH LUCK!! When we got back, M&A had enjoyed their time and cleaned the house - CRAZY!! A little while later, the Copps joined us. It was their first time to meet their son, Calan. He is such a beautiful baby!! He looks like such a big boy and was making the cutest sounds. He has found his voice and is ready to talk. He just doesn't know what to say!! It was so interesting to sit back and watch us all being parents. We can't wait for next year when the youngest boys are running around with the other kids - so fun!! Plus, it will be at our casa - YEAH!!!