The Week in Review

Well, this was another fun and exciting week in Houston! I went to work and survived new employee orientation (it was questionable for a while if I would die of boredom), and then we saved all our fun for the weekend.

This was a picture Rach took this week when she found Allie in the living room. I think Rach must be spending a lot of time on the computer and phone (now there is proof!).

I found out that I passed my licensing exams this week, so I am just waiting for the official word from Florida that I am a legal pharmacist. Since we got such wonderful news we decided to celebrate by going to the zoo (my favorite)!

A picture of my two monkeys in front of the real monkeys.

Allie and I talking to the elephants.

The petting zoo. Allie enjoyed the goats a lot, but she kept trying to pull their ears so I had to keep an eye on her. We got a membership so now we can go back all the time (the zoo will be everyone's favorite now!).

This was Allie getting all pretty. I decided to paint her toe-nails so she could be like her mom.

The final product looks pretty good for painting a moving target while in the midst of a wrestling match. Allie really likes the final product and kept asking for more painting, but we ran out of toes.

After the toe-nails she just sat there admiring them for a while.

Overall it was a terrific week. Houston seems to be growing on us a little bit.

Swimming with the Fishies

Last week Mike took his boards on Wednesday and Thursday so we had 1 day of playing before he started his Residency this Monday.  To celebrate, we went to the Houston Aquarium which is really half aquarium and half carnival.  It was fun, nothing compared to the Atlanta Aquarium, but still good.

Now, for the loads of pictures that we always seem to take...

Allie mesmerized by the bright tank of fish

Here they are petting the sting rays

This is try #2 on a carousel, liked it better than the first time, but still was a little apprehensive once it actually started moving

On her first Ferris Wheel.  I think I had more fun than these two, and saw a beautiful view of Downtown

Here we are before the shark train ride.  This was probably the most exciting attraction they had because you drove through a tunnel of sharks

This was by far Allie's favorite part of the visit.  She and Dad danced the afternoon away

Next Visit I think will be the Zoo

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

While Mike's parents were here, we perused around Houston, finding fun places to play and great food!

While we had babysitters, we went to the Houston Temple :)

We ate out every night trying new places and really liked all of the food!  But, I didn't get any picture, but my belly loved it!

Here are a few of Allie's recent loves.... coloring and bubbles!

She also loves the new pool at our complex and frequently brings us her swimming suit and signs for going outside.  I think we will be spending a lot of time there this summer.

My new love is a new camera that we just got!  I had been borrowing Mike's dad's camera and since we were moving so far away, I thought I should finally give it back.  It is a Canon Rebel and I love it!  I have been learning the manual mode and I have loved playing around with it!  The last camera that I got was when I was in highschool.... I think it was time for an update. 

A Battle of Wills

Meet the face of a little toddler with a lot of attitude.  Since moving, we have had a lot of battles, and I can't blame her, everything in her life has changed, but my will is quickly fading.  Our most recent and longest lasting battle is at the dinner table.  Allie is quite the messy eater and so we always have her wear her bib.  I guess we have eaten out too much on the move but she has now decided she doesn't wear bibs.  I am still persistent on her wearing one, so we have been taking away her food when she pulls off her bib.  This little girl knows what she wants... aren't the terrible twos supposed to start a little bit later?

Good thing she is so cute!  She has also been a lot more affectionate lately, giving random hugs while going "ohhh" which makes it even better.  Here's to getting more patience!  

Since We've Been Gone...

We are officially moved!  We have made our trek west from Florida to Texas and have officially unpacked every box (just 1 more picture to hang).  We really are pros at moving, as this was our 7th time moving all of our stuff in our almost 5 years of being married!  Our first move, we rented 4 feet of space on a semi, my how our things have multiplied!  Mike and his dad packed the truck better than a game of Tetris, leaving a little bit of room to include some extras that we thought would not make the trip.  Our apartment is about 500 sq ft smaller, so we probably could have done without all of it.  O well!

Although I did do a lot of packing items in boxes, these two did the majority of the hauling work and I am so grateful for that!  

There was a whole lot of this going on...

especially because our new apartment (which we love) has a parking garage and the closest place to park the truck was about 100 yards away.

Meanwhile, the girls all arrived by plane after it had all been moved into the apartment. I think we could be professional movers now, but I think Mike's fee would be a bit pricey, as he said that the next time we move, we are going to have a job that pays for the move.  

While we were unpacking, Allie watched a little Princess and the Frog, which was the first time she has actually watched something for more than 2 min, I think she lasted about 10.

We are so grateful for Mike's parents coming out and helping us move, it really made a HUGE difference!