Alex's 8th Birthday

A week ago, my "baby" turned 8. It's hard to believe. He has grown into such a sweet, smart little boy. He talks about becoming a "scientist" who builds robots... and Lego sets. He is so creative, from his drawings and made up stories, to his make-believe play. He loves the Lord and is inspired by the books we read on missionaries. His love for his siblings is obvious, too, and he looks out for them as any great big brother would. What a blessing he is to us - we are so proud of him!

The Friday before his birthday, we had a few of Alex's friends over for pizza and fun and then his cousins stayed over for the night. All went great!








Then on his actual birthday he requested that we go to the beach. We took the opportunity to go on a special "field trip" we'd been wanting to take with my parents. Granny and Paw-Paw met us at Seawolf Park and we took a tour of the WWII submarine, the USS Cavalla, and a destroyer escort, the USS Stewart. These were both similar to ones my dad was on when he was in the Navy, so having him there was like having our own personal tour guide. The kids had a great time on both vessels, though Alex has said the ship was his favorite. Nathan, however, has stated ever since our visit to Seawolf Park that he is going to be a Navy man when he grows up and he will be on board a submarine and will fix things that become broken. So cute!









After Seawolf Park and a nutritious lunch at McDonald's, we went down to the beach where the kids enjoyed the sand and waves of the beach. I could tell Alex had a great birthday; it was a great day for all of us!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX!!!!!

The "Man" Hike

Nathan has wanted to go hiking for quite a long time and he finally got his wish. A few weeks ago, Bill took both boys on an overnight hike. They roughed it and even drank filtered water out of a pond. Well, all except Alex. The water, though filtered, remained a brown color... That would be hard to drink! Unfortunately, there had been a recent controlled burn of the forest area where they were hiking - some parts still smoldering! So the scenery wasn't as nice as it could have been, and all the ash made it a messier than usual hike. Of course, I don't think that bothered them! They returned home dirty and tired, but very happy.

RNASA

Bill has been working in the Constellation program for a number of years now, helping design the Environmental Control Life Support System for the Orion spacecraft. He was recently nominated for a prestigious RNASA Award. He and I had an amazing day touring NASA Johnson Space Center and attending a special luncheon where he was formally recognized for his nomination. The grand finale, however, was the evening banquet, which, as one attendee noted, is the Academy Awards of the space industry: fancy attire, dinner, the works! There were quite a number of important people attending, including Charles Bolden, current NASA administrator, Mike Griffin, former NASA administrator, as well as Annise Parker, the mayor of Houston, Congressman Pete Olson, astronauts, and many others. The whole night was like a dream. I know it was an honor for Bill to be nominated and I am so proud of him. It was truly an amazing experience!

Chocolate Space Shuttle Desserts:

Miles O'Brien:

Charles Bolden:


Mike Griffin:

Bill and I posing with our former department manager from years ago when Bill and I first met as co-ops:

Easter 2010

Our family had another wonderful Easter this year. As has become tradition, we went to my Uncle's for an Easter picnic the Saturday before Easter. It was fun as always! The kids dyed Easter eggs and decorated cookies, played in a big dirt pile (the favorite spot of the day ;)), and went on an Easter egg hunt. And of course, Easter morning, the kids were greeted with their Easter baskets filled lovingly by that special bunny who always leaves such fun - and yummy - surprises! Then of course, we dressed in our Easter attire and went to church to celebrate the true meaning of Easter: Christ's blessed resurrection!





Easter Egg Hunt: READY...

SET...

GO!!!

Cub Scout Spring Camping Trip

The boys had a great time on their Spring camping trip with the scouts. It fell the weekend before Easter, at the same time that I had a leader meeting for our home school Co-op. So Amy and I stayed behind while the guys went camping. I think they had a great time, even though we weren't there. ;)

Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet

A couple of months ago our cub scout pack had its annual Blue and Gold banquet. It was a very enjoyable evening of pizza, cake, presentations, and awards.