It has been a crazy couple of months. We moved from Pennsylvania to Texas mid-April. We are now back in my hometown and it is crazy to think that a year ago, we were getting ready to move from Utah to Pennsylvania and here we are today in a completely different locale. The boys are enjoying their time here. I forgot how much of a small town feel there is here. Of course, it is a small town. We are in a different ward than when I grew up, but so many of the people that I knew growing up are here. Joseph and Samuel are excited about the prospect of fishing and crabbing now that we are in the area. This picture was taken at Galveston Island State Park. They were both enjoying the outdoors. I forgot about how bad mosquitos can get.
The weekend before, we went to Corpus Christi. The boys got to meet their one living great grandparent, my grandma Juarez. They also really wanted to go to the beach. We took them to Padre Island. The past summer we went to the beach in New Jersey and both boys refused to go in the water. Joseph stared at it for a bit and then started to wade and run. Slowly he got to the point where he was playing Frisbee and venturing deeper and deeper into the water.
Samuel was a different story. I was able to get him to stand about this point in the water. It took work and I had to be patient with him, but his face says it all. Afterwards he said that he was proud of me for helping him get in the water. The next time we go to the beach, hopefully I can coax him to play some more.
There is a sea center close by and we have taken the boys a few times. They love it. They love the touch tank and can spend a long time there. There is also a nice boardwalk along the marsh. Joseph really wants to volunteer there. Friday was 1st grades dress up for "What you want to be when you grow up." Joseph really wanted to be a beekeeper. He came home one day from school talking about how amazing bees are and that he wants to keep some when he gets older. I knew I couldn't pull together a beekeeper costume for him, so I asked him if he still wanted to be a video game designer. He said that he knew beekeeping was a hobby and that he wanted to be so many things, but that would be a good job. So on Friday we put on his Plants vs. Zombies t-shirt, some pants, and I made him a video game console out of a box. I drew a video game picture to tape on it and Joe attached a controller. His teacher liked it.
Samuel has been working on his letters. He likes to count to ten now and can get to fifteen without much coaxing. We have been practicing his alphabet a lot, but it is a work in progress. He loves the outdoors and nature. Samuel has also gotten better about cleaning up his room. He does get frustrated when things don't work out the way he wants to, but we have tried working on getting him to be more patient. He is especially interested in volcanoes and likes to talk about Krakatoa and Mt. St. Helen's. He also likes to talk about geysers and Gettysburg. I asked him if he wanted to play with a little neighbor girl that is in our ward and he said, "No. She is a baby."
As for Joe and I, we are trying to find a house. It is weird to be looking for a home here. The market is crazy. If the house is in decent shape, it goes under contract the day it is listed. Joe and I have found one that we think is a winner, but we have to see if the appraisal is okay, plus we have to fix some plumbing issues. It is a big enough house for our family and backs onto a park. Our ward had a tragedy occur. One of our bishopric member's, who I knew growing up, little boy who was 22 months old passed away a week ago. He drowned in his grandparents backyard. The funeral was beautiful. Not only was the chapel full, but the gym was full as well. I hurt for the family because I can only imagine the longing they feel to hold their little boy. Through it all, they have been so strong. I have seen so many familiar faces and they are so welcoming. It is nice. Summer means that we will get to explore the town I grew up in. :)
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