Everybody is here!

Today was even hotter than any other day that I've been here. Bamma, Aunt Heidi, Jayden, Anika and I all went into Houston to go to the Zoo and I am not joking - it was about 104 degrees!! You know, just a little hot, nothing we can't handle ... NOT! I was sweating up a storm, but I made it through the day. The heat meant my camera stayed packed away for most of the day. It was just too hot to keep that straped around my neck the whole day long. It's a pretty neat Zoo, if I do say so. It's so much different from the Zoo in San Francisco though, but with some beautiful landscaping. Too bad the heat meant that a lot of the animals were M.I.A. and fast asleep, trying to beat the heat.






The flamingos are Anika's favorites!



But the bigger fun today happened later! Uncle Brian arrived with Denise, Travis, Mikala, and little Austin (what a cutie) just a few hours ago. I can't even tell you how long it's been since I've seen Brian, and I think the last time that I saw Denise and the kids (minus Austin) was right after I graduated in 2004. Back then Mikala was repeating everything I could get her to say and Travis was still scooting around on his back. My, oh my! Things have really changed in the past 5 years. They're both so big. And then there's little Austin. He's 8 months old. How wierd is it to think that I have a little brother who's only 8 months old! But that's alright. He's just a cutie and it just melts your heart to see his big baby-grins! Oh, and he's just the spitting image of Denise!






Travis and Jayden have been inseperable since Denise pulled up and everyone got out of the van so it's been pretty impossible to get a photo of him. I can't wait to have a full day of fun tomorrow. Mikala and Ana had some fun putting on some little dance shows that remind me of when I was a little girl. Any moment I could get another cousin or even my sister to go along with it we would put on a little dance show or game show for the family to watch. There's nothing like being the center of everyone's attention when you're little!

The countdown starts ...

... Right now!!

I will ofically be en route to Texas in only 13 days. Normally, not something to be excited about, but this is no ordinary stop in the lone star state. Nope, I'm visiting family - and not just any family either! I'll be seeing my most favoritest Grandparents in all the world (not that I don't love all of my Grandparents, because I do) and more family who I haven't seen in a long old while.

My flight leaves on June 21st (Sunday), which also happens to be Father's Day. That's my gift to dad, going away for a full week! I wont be arriving in the Houston area until sometime after 10PM. Wonder how that is going to work out seeing as my flight is less than 12 hours after I get off my overnight shift at Target. I always have a hard time getting used to normal hours again and now we're going to throw in a 2 hour time change into the mix. Oh boy, this should be fun!

I'm trying to make a list of things I need to do before the end of next week so I'm all prepared and ready to go. The sooner I get my butt in gear, the better.

- Re-stock my supply of shorts and tank tops. Texas in the summer is HOT!!
- Make an appointment with Dr. H to talk about getting more Ativan and a nasal spray for my allergies.
- Become a master at packing and unpacking my luggage.
- Make an appointment with Lisa to get a trim. My hair is too long for long and hot days in the sun.
- Find someplace that still stocks my hair color. I am in dire need of a touch up.
- Brush up on my lyrics to all songs from Grease, Chicago, and Mamma Mia for the sing alongs I intend to have with the Lady.
- Get Ella's stitches taken out on 6/12.
- Go to cousin Haley's high school graduation on 6/12.

Speaking of that first bullet point, Heather and I hit up Ross and Marshalls today to see what kinds of things we could find for cheap. I didn't get too lucky in that department though. I only ended up buying two shirts (one tee and one tank), but that was about it. Well, we did have an exciting outing to the Dollar Tree to find what awesomely fun cheap junk we could. It's where I discovered strawberry scented bubbles!! Too bad they didn't smell strongly of strawberries; they were just a touch on the sweet side.

Now I'm curious to know if the still make edible bubbles anywhere.

Anywhoo! The bubbles inspired another impromptu excursion for Dre and myself. Playing with bubbles is fun. We really need to get some Disney bubble necklaces and where them everywhere so we can have impromptu bubble wars anytime and anywhere.



This would be me, attempting to do a heel click.
It would also be me failing to do a heel click. Miserably.