Maria and the kids swung by TX for a week-long visit before heading to AZ. It was wonderful to show them around and spend time with them!
Day 1: Houston Museum of Natural Science - embarking on our 1st day out and totaling 3-1/2 miles of walking, was this beautiful museum with a butterfly exhibit. It was a fun-filled day with LOTS of learning! Day 2: Space Center Houston - Since Mark used to work here, he was thrilled to show everything to the kiddos. It was another fun-filled day with 3 miles of walking. The highlights were the Apollo 5 Rocket and seeing the astronaut training facility. Day 3: Galveston Beach - Us 3-generations of ladies went to spend the day in Galveston.. Canal tour, beaching, and swimming. It was a hot but pretty awesome day! The highlight of this trip was seeing the dolphins in the canal! Day 4: Houston Zoo - Another 3-generation lady trip, it was a very hot day, but we enjoyed seeing all the animals at this beautiful zoo! The highlights? Bree being in such a silly mood! :-) Papa Mark was excited to show the kiddos his lab, and may as well get a home-school science lesson in while he's at it! The highlights, especially for the kids was the demonstration of lightning from the Tesla coil. Day 5: Houston Downtown Aquarium - This was a very small but nice aquarium with a few rides for the young kids. Highlight of this trip with the Shark Tunnel! Day 6: Kemah Boardwalk - halfway back toward Galveston, this boardwalk is a small amusement park on the water. Three of the larger rides were down that day, and I'm sure the highlight would have been the wooden roller coaster. However, since we didn't experience that, the highlight of our trip was the spiral ride to view the area. It was air conditioned on this 106 degree day! :-)
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It was a quick but very fun 3 weeks with the kids. The 2nd weekend of fireworks was a hit, the kids staying in the tent with us was a big hit, and even a special visit from Stephen and Michelle was really awesome!
Near the end of our trip, we wanted to take the kids to the DOW Gardens Tree Walk. They have never been there before, and even though a bit hit, it was a beautiful day all together! If you haven't been to the Tree Walk, visit DOW Gardens in Midland.. You'll LOVE it! June went by WAY too fast! We got to see Katie's kids, took care of the folks for 2 weeks, met the kids at our home campground to celebrate 4th of July, and even took a trip back to the old farm I used to work at!
Arriving at Katie's house, we got to meet Naomi for the first time! She is gorgeous! And so is our new little 15th grandchild Nadia! Even Atalia is thrilled about seeing us.. :-) Pica and Naomi are traveling well together.. In time, I hope they will sleep next to each other to help make the trip go faster. :-) Arriving at one of our favorite resorts, Arrowhead Lakes in Ohio, we saw first hand what the tornado left. It will take them a while to rebuild, but we are SO glad everyone is safe! At mom & dad's house, some of our kids came for a quick visit, and we were able to take care of mom for a while. It was great seeing her at the table to eat with us! Week 2 with Naomi, it was her first trip outside near the campfire. She absolutely loved it for a while.. Then a pic of both Naomi and Pica.. Laying together after just two weeks? I think that's pretty great! Then, a total of 3 weeks at the campground, 2 weeks with our daughter Maria next to us in her 5th wheel, and 1 week with our son Joe & Ashley staying with us. It was an awesome time for everyone! We even took a trip back to the farm to visit with ole friends that were family too. It was great seeing them, but sad to see the old barn not being used anymore. Bigger and better equipment has been built! :-) I didn't post a lot for April because it was a month we spent together without caring much about the outside world. We soaked ourselves into God's word, and the precious moments of the gift of each other. It was a low-key, GREAT month all together.
In the meantime, here are some highlights. Deck: Some awesome friends sold us their deck, and we built it up a little to meet our own needs. We are at a park we really like, a site we absolutely love, and will be at this park for the duration of Mark working at the school. To make things a bit easier, a deck is a nice little addition. Other friends of ours will use it during our time away in MI each year. I must say, it's a nice change, especially when bringing home groceries. :-) Seder: We were honored this month to be invited to a REAL Messianic Jewish Seder dinner. There were over 600 people in attendance, and it was pretty awesome to see the customs and how much they love the Lord. When Mark held Seders for our church years ago, it's great to see how close he was to the real thing. :-) Passover: To celebrate our own Passover season, we had the candles lit each evening we did our devotions. This in itself was SO nice.. Having the candles around the Peace Lily just gave a special meaning do to the persecution going on around the world right now. Grandbaby #15!: This was of course the biggest highlight of the month! Grandbaby #15 was born to complete a family of seven! She is healthy and everyone is happy and doing well. Welcome to the world Nadia! Special Celebration: Mark was honored to be able to fly home to help celebrate his mom's 85th birthday! Much of the family were there, and it was awesome for him to catch up with family happenings. What an awesome time, Happy Birthday Mom! MISC Favorites: This month has brought a Blessing of storms and beautiful scenery outside. Check out the sunsets and clouds! A few fun pics of Pica.. Waiting for papa to come home, waiting patiently for dinner time, and just chillin before bedtime. :-) It is always nice to take a break from the 'norm', and we've been looking forward to visiting Corpus Christi for quite a while. Our favorite area? Port Aransas, watching the wild dolphins playing in the bow wave of the ships. :-) Places we visited: Aransas National Wildlife Refuge: This refuge is known for the Whooping Cranes who migrate here in the winter. They were mostly gone when we visited, but we did end up seeing 7 of them from afar. Next year we hope to visit the Whooping Crane festival in February. South Texas Botanical Garden & Nature Center: With a $9 entry fee, this cute botanical garden was more of a unique walk than a garden. They do accept dogs, so we did this on a day we took Pica with us. They have a greenhouse of Orchids which was fabulous, but otherwise just a good excuse for a walk. They had 1 bird out, but the other 20 birds were put away for the day. OSO Bay Wetlands Preserve: Also dog friendly. We didn't see many birds here, but it was a beautiful walk with nicely groomed trails. About 3 miles here. Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge: A smaller refuge near the bay, Pica walked the boardwalk with us to see the bridge and bar area. About a mile walk, but the boardwalk is in need of repair and it was a bit scary to be on. Most of the time, we carried Pica in fear of her paws stepping on nails. Port Aransas (Dolphins & Pelicans): Oh my, this place is a MUST GO spot if you visit the area! I read that this was a hot-spot for dolphins, and it wasn't long until we found them swimming in the channel! It was pretty common to see them playing around boats, but the most amazing was to see them just play in the bow-wave of the large ships. After this ship arrived in the gulf, the dolphins would disappear for a while, then show up when another ship went by. Just like a bunch of teenagers 'catching their wave' all day.. :-) Texas Aquarium: Reviews on this place were not that great, but we went anyway. We had a good time, but it was way too busy to really enjoy the exhibits. At $35 each, I don't think we'll be back. U.S.S. Lexington: A retired air craft carrier that was involved in Pearl Harbor and World War II. It was commissioned for 40 years before it was finally retired and placed at Corpus Christi. I must say, this was absolutely BY FAR, the best ship tour we've ever had! After 3 hours, we still hadn't seen everything, and we were allowed to tour 6 different decks, the flight deck, the bridge, and LOTS more.. We would also recommend this ship visit if you're in the area, and is well worth the $17/$19 entrance fee. Sea Life Education Center: A small little building and a $9 entrance fee, this place is active in saving the sea turtles and releasing the babies in the summer. Their knowledge is amazing, and it was wonderful to see all the animals in their care. Padre Island: this island is a home to MANY birds, and has over 60 miles of drivable beach, most of which can be camped on. It was beautiful for a day trip, but we quickly learned that the beautiful photos we've seen online are not what the beach is like. We'll be keeping our RV off of this beach. We ended up grabbing a special trash bag from the visitor center and spent our time walking the beach and picking up garbage. Nope. we didn't even make a dent. We don't have to go back. Ever!
Mark and I decided that since we were going to be just an hour from Galveston this winter, we’d take advantage of going on a cruise as part of our 25th anniversary celebration (March was our anniversary month). From the advice of a few friends and family, we booked a basic cruise with Royal Caribbean (RC) on their Adventure of the Seas. We have never been interested in taking a cruise, so this would be an experience we were nervous about, yet excited to experience together. As the day approached, our excitement grew. We found an awesome kennel for Pica and put our RV to bed for a week. The customs process was amazing! Our pre-checklist created a time for a set amount of visitors so the terminal wasn’t bombarded with hundreds of people at a time. We waited for maybe 10, but walked through most lines and check points. Before too long, we were on the ship and on our mission to explore! Setting Sail - - Our stateroom was on the 11th deck. We were in a hallway of just 6 rooms, and we were on the same floor as all the pools, 2-4 bars, slides, and main buffet restaurant. Because the rooms were in the front of the ship beyond the adult only area, it was not in a main walkway or busy location, so it was extremely quiet! For breakfast, it was a short walk from our room down to the other side of the ship to the buffet. In the evening, the jacuzzi was about 100 feet through the doors and around the corner. VERY cool! * Note: If we go on future cruises, we will always look for this type/location of room. We had 2 days at sea, going to Costa Maya and returning to Galveston. On these days, we booked all the events and shows we could manage. We ended up seeing ALL the shows they had to offer; joined in with many trivia get-togethers, and enjoyed watching all the crazy/fun events that other people were taking part of. For instance; 'Friendly Feud', 'Speed wall climbing', and the 'sexiest man competition'.. Ha! I ended up leaving early on that! Most of these events we just watched a little of. Was never interested in the shopping on the main Promenade, nor the unlimited ice cream or pizza.. What we enjoyed the most was walking outside around the decks and watching other boats, the sea, and the stars. Sitting outside in that sea breeze together was priceless! ~ Click on photos to enlarge... ~ Costa Maya - - Costa Maya was our first experience of an excursion. We booked through a 3rd party company, and could not take advantage of our entire tour because there wasn’t enough time. However, they did move us around a little to make it work, and we were still able to see the Mayan Temple. We had a small group, and a great tour guide, so I consider that a LOT better than the large groups booked by the RC excursions. When departing the ship, we walked through a mall of shops geared toward travelers. Everyone was ‘in your face’ about buying their items, and we did not like the pushy sales people. We quickly had fear of going into any store, knowing that they would somehow convince us into buying something we didn’t want. Otherwise, Costa Maya has a LOT to do away from specific excursions. Bike Rental tours, 4-wheeler tours, Lagoon swimming, beach, and just take a taxi to a great location. There is a LOT more to explore here, so don't be afraid to get online and read the reviews. :-) Cozumel - - Cozumel was a lot nicer, but the Dolphin Encounter excursion was still quite the experience. Once again, we had to walk through a mall where all the sales reps met us in the streets and begged us to buy their product. There was no way around this, so we just kept walking. We were eventually whisked away by one of RC’s vans, to our mini lagoon where they had 16 dolphins and enclosed locations for snorkeling and kayaking. Now, we thoroughly enjoyed meeting our dolphin ‘Achilles’, touching him, and seeing all the dolphin tricks up close! This was probably the highlight of my trip at least.. however, we really expected more and hoped to be in a beautiful, calm logoon. Instead, we were at the edge of the sea, and the choppy waves made kayaking scary. Only Mark went snorkeling, and it was just like being in a basic aquarium. The area was stocked with fish, and even though it was a neat experience, the choppy waters reduced clarity and it just wasn't as brilliant as we thought. After speaking with others that have been on many cruises, they suggested NOT getting any excursions, yet walking into town (past all the piranha salespeople, and asking the local people what’s good to do if you only have a few hours. Then, you’d be supporting the real local people, and going to some pretty and less populated areas (the diamonds in the rough). Note: IF we do this and we don’t make it back to the ship, the ship WILL leave, and returning home is on our dime. If we take the ships excursions and we’re late to the ship, the company will get us back on their dime no matter what happens. Before leaving Cozumel, we swam in the cove near the ships. It was a beautiful 85 degree day, and the crystal clear waters were 82 degrees. We really enjoyed playing around in this little cove. Sunsets - - You know, God makes a LOT of beautiful sunsets.. But for some reason, the ones at sea just seem to be extra special. Cruise Highlights - - Highlights of the Cruise: Being our first cruise, we had no real expectations. We were ‘wowwed’ by everything, specifically the size, grandeur, and the professional atmosphere of the entire staff. The dining experience itself was spectacular. We chose traditional late dining, so we ate near the same people every evening at 7:30. I really believe the Lord puts us by people we can connect with, and this time was no different. We made some wonderful friends, and connected with them on several levels. We ended up exchanging contact information and will hopefully stay in touch with them. A really cool experience was an afternoon at the jacuzzi. I met a deaf individual with his hearing friend. Since I’m in the middle of sign language classes, I was able to sign/speak with them a little and they were more than eager to interact with me, teach me a few things and give me some tips. That was the highlight of that day! Here's a few more pictures detailing the ship itself... Final Thoughts - - We really loved how there was something for everyone on the ship. Those who like to party, gamble, shop, arcade and sports, can do those things. For us, it was the shows, the jacuzzi, the ambiance, and the spectacular dining experience. It was really nice that no matter what you like to do, there is something for you on a cruise. We were amazed by the location of our room, and wouldn’t change a thing! It was quiet and comfortable. We had a wonderful stateroom attendant, that made everything perfect for us, including making a new towel animal for us each night. LOVED it! There were many dining options included for cruisers, and the buffet at the Windjammer was the most popular. It had perfect seating, good food, and awesome servers. It was open from 6:30am-11pm for non-stop dining possibilities. Will we go on another cruise? We are not sure yet. We're more apt to fly to a location and enjoy a week, instead of cruising there. However, for anybody that loves the pools, the arcade, casino, slides, and all that cruises have to offer,,, cruising is definitely a great option for them.
Thank you for letting us share.. Feel free to leave us comments. :-)
Wow! Is there every a LOT to do in Branson! Especially if you want to do the touristy thing, spend money, and eat.. A LOT!
So, it's 95 degrees out this week. The RV is barely keeping up with keeping us cool, so we don't feel like going on a bike or hiking trip in this heat. Mark's cousin Bonnie recommended a few shows, so that is exactly what we did. We decided to see "SIX", which is an a cappella group of brothers that also make all band/orchestra sounds with their mouths. They were absolutely awesome! So if you're ever in Branson, they would be a good show to see. :-) We also wanted to see a large screen production, so we decided to stay in the air conditioning once again to see "JESUS2022". It's a live show about the life of Jesus at the Sights & Sound Theater. I must say.. WOW!!! It was a large wrap-around stage, with a 300' LED panel in the back of the stage. They incorporated a LOT of animals in the play, including dogs, sheep, donkeys, horses and camels! This is by far the BEST play we have every seen! Stay Details: Treasure Lake RV Resort - Branson, MO. Notes: There's not much to say here. It's a very large park with quite a few amenities that we did not enjoy because of the heat. Their outside pool was closed, and most of the sites were built on hills, so they would be hard to get into. We were luckily able to choose our own site, so we drove around until we found a relatively flat area with a longer & wider site. The pool was basic, and so was the putt putt. We did not go into the lounge. Just a reminder, Branson has a LOT of steep hills in and around the area. After visiting cousins, we spent a warm day in St. Louis. We toured the free Zoo, and toured the Budweiser plant; only because I love the horses!
The Zoo itself is spectacular! It is very well designed, and I especially loved the monkey area that has been built in a way where the people walk through their exhibit. The Budweiser plant tour was fair, only because we didn't get to actually touch the horses. It was pretty cool to see the bottling facility and how they made it. It's been about 5 years since we've attended a CMA Rally. We were finally able to return this year, and were able to kindle a LOT of old friendships that we've missed. These rallies are always filled with great speakers, great music, and fun events, and this was no different. Everything from testimonies, to baptisms, bike games, youth programs, venders, and of course a variety of great speakers. Catching up with ole friends and fellowshipping around campfires and potlucks was just the icing on the cake. Mark was asked to sing, and our interpreter Chris even returned too! It was almost like old times. The video below shows the short version of Mark's song.
Lakeshore is our 'home resort' where we spend 3-5 weeks of our summer each year. We catch up on doctors, dentists, vet, and of course family! This year was especially a blast, as Maria (and family) stayed a week at the resort near us, and Joe (and family) stayed with us in the camper 2 weekends! There was a lot of time to catch up and have fun with all the kiddos!
*Descriptions are on photo captions. |