Trip to Dallas

I know it's been a while since I've posted. This summer has been busy busy busy. Zachary and I just got back from Dallas, TX. We left on Monday to stay with my sister, Connie, and her family (husband - Chad and triplets - Ryan, Emily & Kyle). My sister, Tracy, and her boys (Reed & Graham) were in town (during their 6 week stay in the states - they've lived in Shanghai China for three years and are getting ready to move to Singapore in a few weeks). It worked out well because I haven't seen Connie since my cousin Brenda's wedding three years ago. I even got to see my mom and dad for a few hours since they drove Tracy and the boys to Dallas. Zachary and I got to the airport, checked our luggage and went upstairs to the gate only to find Cameron Diaz sitting there waiting to board our plane. I wanted so badly to have Z go up to her and say, "Ms. Cameron, can I take a picture with you?" but I chickened out. It was a small plane and she sat four rows in front of me. We were both on the isle so I could see her every time she leaned over. She was walking down the isle and I tried to take a picture of her with my cell phone but the big dude in front of me leaned over at the same time to check her out so I ended up with a picture of his back. Apparently she was in town with her siblings to view some wetlands or something like that. Anyhoo---my parents picked us up at the airport and took us to Connie's. Tracy and the boys were there and the kids played and played until after dinner. Connie house is perfectly set up for 6 kids to play. Here are her three:

Ryan

Kyle EmilySince I didn't get pictures of Cooper and Zachary playing together while I was in KS I was determined to get pics of the kids. I have plenty of them playing but I won't post all of them. Unfortunately I was so focused on the kids I didn't really take any of my parents, Connie & Chad, or Tracy. I really wanted a picture of myself, Tracy & Connie but we just never got one taken. With six kids it's easy to forget about taking pics!!

On Tuesday we went to the pool in Connie's neighborhood. It's right around the corner and it's such a nice pool and playground. We were practically the only ones there. It was so nice. That night Tracy picked Zachary and I up and we went to my friend, Gina's, house. She and her family live in Frisco which took us close to an hour to get there. Gina and David live in a beautiful home. We tried getting as many Salina people that lived in Dallas (and surrounding areas) together as we could. It was a wonderful evening. I wish I would have gotten to visit with everyone more but unfortunately Zach had an allergy attack. Gina has two dogs (who were even in the laundry room the whole time) and Zach is allergic to both dogs and cats. We got there about 5:15 and by 7:00 he was miserable. So we ended up having to leave early. Poor little guy. Here are a few pictures from that evening:

Dart & his darling baby girl, Madison who is only 6 weeks!! Precious! Dart & Jim This is about half the people that came. Wish I could have gotten more pictures taken. On Wednesday we decided to load the kids up and go to the park. There were some ducks there that the kids (and us moms) enjoyed feeding. Unfortunately Zach was climbing up the ladder and Reed was behind him and Z accidentally kicked Reeder in the mouth. I took a picture of him and despite the busted lip I think he still looks cute in the picture! Here is Tracy's other son, Graham. That night we went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner. Tracy's mother in law, Glenda, and nephew, Bryce, met us there. Unfortunately almost all of the pictures I took at the restaurant were blurry due to all of the lights. Here is a picture of Zach waving to one of the Gorillas. I also took a picture of the dessert we ordered. It's called a Volcano. The kids really got a kick out of it. I'm happy to say that both of our flights were on time. I was disppointed that there were no movie stars on the flight back but we got home safe and sound so I guess I'm happy about that. We were both so excited to see Jason when we got off the plane. When we got home Addison just stood there looking at me for a few seconds and then smiled and ran over. A big thank you to Linda for watching her all day on Thursday. Although I missed Addie it was great taking a trip with just Zachary. We don't get to spend a whole lot of time together just the two of us. It was a lot of fun. Thanks Connie for hosting us for four days!!! I had so much fun getting to see you and your family - you are welcome to come to Gulfport any time! I'm so happy that I got to see Mom and Dad (thanks for picking us up at the airport!). And I'm so thankful I got to see Tracy and the boys even if it was for only four days. I miss them so much and wish they would move back to the states so we could get together more often!

Here are a few random shots of the kids....

Simon's had a long day

Our poor Simon had to have surgery on his knee today. He had a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. As you can see on his knee he has staples that will stay in for 14 days. The doctor said he will probably need two months to recover. Which means we'll have to board him every time we go to the bay for the next couple months. We actually don't have plans to go for about another month so that is good. I had taken a close up picture of the staples but I will spare you that view. It's not fun to look at. Right now he's pretty drugged up and hopefully will just sleep all night comfortably. We aren't sure how this happened. He is over weight because he's been on steroids due to his allergy problems. The doc said he could have hurt it going up and down the stairs or if he stepped in a hole outside. Just not sure. Poor thing. Please say a prayer for him that he recovers quickly.

My First Fishing Trip

We went to the bay for the holiday weekend. I have been wanting to go fishing with Jason and on Friday I got the chance. Jason, John and I got up at the crack of dawn and headed out at 6:15 a.m. There were storms out in the gulf but we went anyways. As you can see in the center of the picture there was rain but we were able to drive around it. Our gracious CaptainJohn getting some beauty rest on the way out.

Martin & Linda recently got two new beautiful boats. The big boat has a GPS unit in it and mapping software so the guys plugged in some reefs the night before. We hit the first one which was about 12 miles out. John threw in the first line and BAM caught one right away. We caught two Red Snapper but had to throw them back because they weren't big enough. State regulations say they have to be at least 16 inches long.

Reeling in my first catch.After that we drove to an oil rig that is about 23 miles out. The water was so calm it was awesome. We trolled around there for a while and Jason reeled in a huge King Mackerel.After trolling for a while we decided to go out even farther. Like I said the water was so calm it was easy to drive the boat. We made good time and ended up going 40 miles out. We found another reef that Jason had plugged into the GPS unit. Like before, John threw the first line out and BAM caught a really big Red Snapper. We all caught some at this reef. In this picture I was reeling in a really big one and I had him over half way up but he got away. I was bummed, I really wanted to see how big he was. I was having a hard time reeling the fish in since I'm not as big and strong as the guys. So John got out this belt that had a holder where you can put the bottom of the fishing rod. It made it so much easier for me. Thanks John! As you can see I am really struggling to get this guy up!
Here's Jason catching one!
I took a picture of the water on the way home. It was really calm but the water was actually really nasty. Because of all the flooding up north the water was very muddy (it all traveled down the Mississippi River). You could not see but maybe an inch below the the surface.
Here are our five Red Snapper and the big King Mackerel.

I wanted a picture of myself holding the fish I caught. I've never picked up a fish before. I'm not sure I ever will again. It was super slimy.

I really want to thank Sarah, Linda & Martin for watching the kids that day so Jason and I could go out fishing together. We had such a good time. We really appreciate you doing that for us!! That night we had a bunch of friends and family over for dinner. It was a lot of fun. Here is Addie looking precious.
Jason's cousin, Lara, has a little boy named Harry. Harry is 2.5 years old and Zachary was so excited he was coming over. Here are the boys when they first saw each other. Harry was carrying a Blue Lightening McQueen (from the movie Cars) so Zachary ran to get his red Lightening McQueen. The boys had so much fun running around.

My trip to Kansas

The kids and I had a wonderful time in Kansas with my parents, sister Angie, brother-in-law Barry and nephew Cooper. This was the first time I have flown with both kids by myself. I was a nervous wreck. I told Jason on the way to the airport I was more nervous about this than giving birth, and that's saying something! I had gotten a sit and stand stroller for the airport and also a pac back which is a carrier for a car seat. I got Addison her own seat because the little squirt does not sit still for one second. I knew it would be much easier on the both of us if she was strapped in. I would have had a really hard time without either of these things (stroller and pac back). The flights to Kansas were all on time and Zachary did so incredibly well. Addison fussed a little but overall was pretty good. When we got to Wichita a little after 8pm Zachary was so excited about being off the plane and seeing Grandma and Grandpa Lilly that he was galloping in the airport going, "YES! YES!" After we got the luggage we still had an hour and a half drive to Salina. The kids didn't go to bed till about 11pm that night but did so good. On Wednesday we all just chilled out and rested and enjoyed being with my parents. We did go to a park where they had water fountains for the kids to play in. It was nice and hot out so a perfect day to go.

Zachary was cold so my dad suggested laying down on the hot pavement to warm up. Zachary must have thought this was a good idea. That night was a nightmare though. There were horrible storms throughout KS and it all started after the kids had gone to bed. There was wind, rain, hail and tornadoes. I knew they were exhausted from the night before so I really did not want to wake them up to take them in the basement. However the tornado sirens kept going off. My dad and I had been watching the news and were keeping track of where the tornadoes were being spotted and it was all south of Salina. However he and I were standing in the kitchen talking and all of a sudden there was this huge gust of wind and I said, "Go get Zach! I'll get Addie!" So we got the kids and carried them down to the basement. Zachary slept through being carried down two flights of stairs, then sleeping in the basement for a while on a Wiggles couch. The tornado warning had passed so we carried the kids upstairs again. Addison was awake the whole time but didn't fuss at all. After the tornado warning was lifted my mom came home from work (where they were all in the basement there) and as we are all three standing in the kitchen the hail started and the sirens go off again. So I picked up Zach this time and my mom gets Addie. We go down to the basement and Zachary sleeps through it all again. Addison is wide awake but doesn't fuss. It was extremely scary for me but I was so happy that Zachary slept through it all! There wasn't much tornado damage in Salina but there was a ton in Chapman, KS and Manhattan, KS which is where I went to college. On Thursday we went to the library, where my mom works, so the kids could go down in the basement to the children's area. It is so neat, I wish we had a nice library like this one.
Of course Addison, my climber, felt it important to crawl up over the little tables to get in the center.
That night Angie's family got to my parents late because there was another round of storms that hit their direct path to Salina. Friday morning we found Cooper, Angie and dad all in the sunroom where my dad has put a train table that he built. Zachary spent a lot of time there. He loves Thomas the Train and my dad has a great set up for the boys. I cannot believe I do not have a picture of Zachary and Cooper playing together.

On Friday the River Festival started (one of the reasons I went back this particular week) so we went over in the morning. It is really neat. There are tons of different food booths, lots of arts and crafts for the kids to do and games they can play. I thought Zachary would really get into it this year but he really only wanted to play on the jungle gym. The weather was nearly perfect. It was a little warm in the sun but sitting in the shade was wonderful. All the Kansans said it was humid but I didn't think so at all. You don't know humid till you've lived in the deep south! Here are some pictures that my dad took. This is my sister Angie hanging out where we set up camp.

Zach and my mom at the Lego's station.

Cooper with his face painted. So cute.

Barry & Cooper

Miss Addie crawling around.That night I went out to dinner with some of my girlfriends (and a few of their husbands). We had such a good time. My mom has a pillow at home that says, "Old Friends are the Best Friends" and it is so true. We ate dinner at The Scheme which is the best pizza place ever. Here are a few pics from that night....

Kelly & JasonHeather and I
Me, Stephanie & Michelle
Okay we walked into this bar to see Hulk Hogan staring at us. I had to take a picture for Jason.

Stephanie & Jamie
Stephanie & I
On Saturday afternoon we went to the pool. It has this great water slide as you can see. Zachary had SO much fun going down it. First he went down with me. Then he went down with my dad.
As you can see you have to walk up this tall flight of stairs.
He finally asked to go down by himself. I was a little nervous but my dad got in the pool down at the bottom and waited for him.
Unfortunately that is all the pics I have. After Saturday I just stopped taking pictures. I have absolutely no idea why. Angie's family left on Sunday. It was so good to see them. Zachary and Cooper played so well together. Angie is pregnant with their second (a little girl!! YEA!) and is due in August so I cannot wait to go back to meet her! On Tuesday morning I woke up and finished packing up our suitcases. We were to fly out of Wichita at 11:30 that morning. I turned on my cell phone around 8:30 to find a voicemail from American Airlines saying my flight was cancelled. Thankfully I had signed up for voicemail notification if there was any change to my itinerary. Thank goodness! I had already checked in online the day before and had my boarding passes printed so I wouldn't have checked the flight times again. We would have driven an hour and a half to find out the flight was cancelled. They had booked us on the only other flight that day which was at 5:55pm. I was not happy. We were all so ready to get home and see Jason. I tried getting flight on a different airline with no such luck. We got to Wichita and flew out with no hassles. We got into Dallas at 7:15 and were supposed to fly out at 8:20. When I checked to see what gate we were flying out of it said that my flight was delayed till 9:29pm. I could not believe I had to kill two hours with two kids who were pretty tired. They did so well though. Zachary helped me out so much because he was so incredibly good. We finally got on the plane about 9:45 and then sat there for half an hour while they worked out a maintenance issue. We took off at 10:15 and landed in Gulfport at 11:30. I had to carry Addison off the plane in the carseat because she was zonked out. Zachary was SOOO happy to see Jason, as was I. My husband is the sweetest man, he had two dozen roses for me and a ton of big balloons for Zachary. He would have shown up with these even if we hadn't had such trouble coming home. He's just that sweet. We didn't make it home till after midnight and were all so happy to be there.