YMCA (are you singing??)

Houston is home to the 4th largest YMCA in the country, and it's right down the street! We just joined today and I am SO excited! The cardio machines have personal tvs, the weight room (yes, a seperate room!) has machines I've never even seen before, dumbells in all the in-between weights like 7.8 lbs, 12.5 lbs, etc., TONS of free group classes like kickboxing, yoga, pilates, Zumba, and Body Combat, a women's only fitness room, indoor pool, outdoor pool, family pool, outdoor running track, a kid/teen center in a seperate building, and an amazing child care room with a rock climbing wall and every toy you could imagine. Ahh..that was a mouthful. But can you tell how excited I am??!!

Even animals are nicer in the South

Addicted to Scrabble

Most people know I have a love for word games, and usually do quite well in them. So my Mom was especially excited to play a word in Scrabble that kept me fighting for the rest of the game. That's because she scored 97 points in ONE play!!! The word? "Bolvines", which was played using all 7 letters (a 50 pt. bonus) on a triple word score, a double letter score, and also finished another word. Man-oh-man! Definitely worthy of a picture.

Happy Halloween

We had a pretty princess and a vicious vampire this year.

Happy Birthday, Michaela!

Our baby turned 4 yesterday. I can't believe it! We started out the day with Birthday Pancakes, then had storytime at the library, a birthday lunch, signed up for karate, and finished the day with cake and presents. She was very excited to get all the phone calls from family, especially her older cousins that she looks up to SOOO much.

This family is NOT above bribery

Our new living arrangements mean the girls are sharing a bed. Michaela thinks she and her sister are having a sleepover everynight. Nadja thinks this is pure torture. For an entire month we have heard nothing but little wimpers coming out of the bedroom-that would be Michaela. Then we hear "Shhh! Be quiet!!!"-that would be Nadja. This goes on usually until about 10:00 at night when they both finally pass out. The other night, Michaela came dashing out of their bedroom all excited that Nadja was going to give her candy after school if she is quiet and goes to sleep. It worked like a charm, and we couldn't be more proud of our little negotiator.

The Annual Primary Program

We had the Primary Program in our new ward today. It was cute, but I couldn't help but think of all the children I had come to know and love in our home wards, the Warren & East Shores Wards. I had been blessed to be a part of those children's lives as I served them for the past 2 1/2 years. I love them, miss them, and hope they are excited for their own primary programs. I was almost in tears as I listened to the primary songs sung by children I have never met. I wish I could be in Michigan just one more week so I could be there to hear the songs sung by children I do know and to hear how their testimonies have grown over the years. I love those kids!!