Milo...RIP

This morning, we had to put down one of our cats, Milo. He died of possibly cancer, or a gastrointestinal disorder. This is his story: Milo blew into our family in 2008. He literally “blew” into our neighborhood during Hurricane Ike in September of that year. Nobody had seen him before the storm. But there he was - a stray, but very affectionate cat. We asked all around if he belonged to anyone, but no one claimed him. So we added him to our family. At first, we called him “Ike” for obvious reasons. But once we got to know his personality, we had a better name in mind. He was very much like Milo in the movie “Milo and Otis.” He loved to get into everyone’s business. He antagonized our other cats to no end, and was always full of mischief. So, the name stuck. He loved to play – especially under the bed sheets while you tried to make the bed. He was always ready to eat just about anything. When startled, his backside jumped farther than his front, almost flipping him backwards. He was certain the random pencil or piece of thread was a clear and present danger and needed to be subdued. Milo liked to get in the way of the TV or computer monitor while you were watching. He just wanted attention and love, and he got it. He will be terribly missed. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Check Out Her Ears...

Required Eating

Today, Sheri and I took the girls to that staple of popular American food...Taco Bell!!!  They actually enjoyed it.  Mostly because we introduced them to Mexican food a couple of years ago.  (However, many would not define Taco Bell as Mexican - and, to be precise, neither would I).  Anyway, crunchy tacos all around and they had a blast.

San Antonio Vacation

It's been a while since we've taken a vacation.  And when I write "vacation" here I define it as going somewhere for relaxation and recreation that is not at or near relatives.  I also exclude here our annual camping trip.  When defined as such, the last time we went on a vacation was in 2001 - before going to Seminary and before the girls "were".
Last week, we went on a short, three day excursion to San Antonio - only about 4 hours drive from Friendswood.  We have driven through San Antonio on the way to other places, but have never stayed or explored.
We left on June 2nd.  On the way, we made the requisite stop at Bucee's.

We arrived at our hotel - the Peartree near the airport and checked in.  The girls had never stayed overnight in a hotel, so this was a brand new experience.
That afternoon, we went downtown to the Riverwalk and took the boat tour:

We ate dinner right there on the Riverwalk at The Rainforest Cafe.  All the foliage and animals and noise was a bit overwhelming  - especially for Emma.  But she eventually settled in.

All of Friday was dedicated to Sea World.  This would be the girls first major amusement park experience.  We decided to get in all of the rides early and then see shows during the afternoon.  The girls rode the "Shamu  Express" - a small roller coaster designed for kids.  Abby handled it quite well, so I decided I had one chance with her to ride something big: The Steel Eel.  She was a bit unsure, but I assured her the whole time and kept telling her what would happen next.  The look on her face for that first drop was priceless: shear terror and awesomeness.  After we finished the ride, which would be our last major coaster ride of the day, Abby said, "It was scary and awesome all at the same time."

We did a couple more rides such as Rio Loco.  Then we ate lunch and went to shows.  We saw three: the orcas, the sea lions, and "Azule" - combination of dolphins, beluga whales, birds, and human swimmers.  I was impressed by the orca's size and power.  Sheri liked "Azule" the best.

The park really wasn't very busy.  We had a great time, but were really tired by the end of the day.

Saturday morning, we went back downtown to the Alamo - sort of a required visit if you're going to live in Texas.  It was small, but an interesting part of Texas history.  The reason behind a lot of town and street names were explained - all heroes of the Battle of the Alamo.

Then we journeyed home.  A short, but great vacation.

Easter Dresses

I suppose Easter dresses are just something that's required.  Fortunately, the girls' dresses from Mom and Dad's 50th anniversary celebration still fit.
Blessed Easter.

Wax Museum

Two weeks ago, (yes, I'm well behind on posts) the girls were a part of a "Wax Museum" at school.  They chose and researched the life of a famous person - Abby chose "Jane Austen" and Emma chose "Lucy Maud Montgomery" albeit with significant help from their mother.  They dressed the part, and then one evening at school, they held the wax museum in the gym.  I have a short video clip of Abby and it's posted below.  I shot one of Emma as well, but the audio was really poor.

They both did a really great job!

Again!!??

Abby just keeps loosing teeth. This has to be some kind of record - losing two teeth in within four days.
Here is a pic from after the one came out:

And here is the pic from today's loss:

Surprisingly, it hasn't affected Abby's speech too much.  It does look freaky when she sticks her tongue out through the gap.
Fortunately, new ones replace the lost ones - this time.