Trip to Houston

Kim and I went to Houston with our kids a few days ago to the children's museum there. It was really cool! Well, for the kids anyway. I couldn't play with all the neat stuff they had and Avery was too young to really enjoy it but it is definitly a place you should take your young children to someday.

We were finished going through and letting the kids play at about 2pm, so we decided to drive an extra 45 min to the beach. That was fun too! We got sand all over the place but the kids REALLY enjoyed it. It was Avery's first time to the beach, but I didn't let her touch or play in the sand because I want Alex to be there for that! I got some cate pictures of everyone playing in the water and I'll post them once I get them on my computer.

We started to head back home at around 4:45pm and didn't get back to Burleson until almost midnight! It was a crazy long day but I really enjoyed it! Pictures will be coming soon. Laura

My nephew got locked in!!

Just to give you the background of my story, I watch my 3 year old nephew, Carter, during the day while his mom goes to work. It's a ton of fun spending time with him. He's just soo cute! Now when he and his sister get together, that's a whole different story. They always end up fighting!

So last Friday (Feb. 18) me, Kim, and the kids were enjoying the weather outside when Kelsea and Carter decided they wanted something to drink. They went in, we heard the traditional yelling and screaming that we always hear when they are alone together, and then bam! Carter slams the door to the back porch after Kelsea walks out.

No big deal right? Wrong. He ends up locking us outside and he couldn't get the door unlocked somehow! So Carter's trapped in the house by himself, balling because all he want's is to "Be outside with YOOOOOU!" and we're all outside. The front door was our only chance to get back in. Unfortunitly, the gate is locked and the key is inside, Kim is in her dressy work clothes, and I'm barefoot. I decide it would be best for me to go so Kim wouldn't ruin her nice clothes. I hand Avery over to her and start the climb. I don't know how many of you have climbed a wooden fence barefoot, but it's not the most comfortable thing to do. And to top it off, once I got to the top of the fence, I realized there was a six foot drop to contend with. I couldn't get myself to jumb that without any shoes on, so I deside to use my neighbors chain link fence as a step before jumping to the dead grass. Again a pretty painful thing to do when you're barefoot! But alas, I made it over and got to the front door. Locked. Dang it! All that work for a locked front door!

Carter had heard me trying to open it and ran to the door. I gotta tell you, it was pretty sad. I heard him crying and telling me to "Just open it!!" and his cute little hand was pressed against the textured glass like in a scary movie. I coached him in turning the handle to open the door (it's one of those doors that locks only from one side so he didn't need to unlock the door) and after a few minutes of trying and telling me to open it for him, he finally did it! I opened the door to a teary eyed 3 year old saying "I just wanted to be outside with you!" I wiped his wet cheeks and we opened the back door for Kim and Kelsea.

Afterward, Kim taught Carter how to unlock a door after you've locked it and they left for the evening. The one thing I learned from the whole experience? NEVER go outside barefoot.


-- Laura

We're BACK!

So I haven't been blogging in forever. I originally stopped because my camera got stolen when Alex and I went to Jackson Wy for a weekend get-a-way in 2009. Who wants to read a blog that has no pictures anyway? I finally got a new camera for Christmas 2010. YAY! Now I can continue. Lauren Taylor, I'm doing this for you! Start following and I'll let you know what adventures our family is up to.

I strongly believe that people live for their blogs and facebook pages. How many of you have thought, "I'm totally going to do this goofy thing and post it on facebook. It'll be hilarious!" Maybe keeping this blog updated will make my life just a little more interesting. Can't hurt to try!

Keep Reading,

Laura

it's FINALLLY summer!

So it is finally summer here in Rexburg. The past four weeks it has been rainy almost every day and the weather was always chilly. The last couple of days however have been pretty nice! In the 70's and nice and sunny. It's too bad I lost my camera in Jackson Wyoming.... or I'd post pictures! Maybe Alex and I will be able to buy a new camera sometime before the end of summer, maybe when we go back to Texas for vacation.

I can't wait to go back to Texas and feel what a real summer should be like! I posted some pictures of water that I took last summer... these remind me that there was once a time when it was hot enough to swim....

long time no see!

Oh my it's been a long time!!!! We have been really busy lately. Summer semester has started for us and we are both taking a couple classes, and trying to work as much as we can.

Alex is now on salary at sonic!! It isn't much, but he worked really hard to get this far. I am also the President of the newly formed Earth Science Society! It has been challenging to get the society running at school, but I'm so glad to be a part of it and contribute all I can!

Alex and I moved out of our apartment for the summer to housesit for a friend.I think I'll scrounge up some pictures of the new place soon and I'll post them here for all to see. It's a basement apartment and the kids upstairs are sooo loud sometimes, but free rent for a few months? who could give that up?!

peace. and don't contract swine flu :-)

6 things about me

Ok Libby, you got me feeling all guilty because I haven't done this yet! So here goes...

Here are six interesting things about me

1. I have had the goal of being the first woman on Mars since I was six years old. I have always loved studying Astronomy, especially planetary astronomy.

2. I will be graduating soon with a major in Earth Science Education, minor in History. I hope to continue my schooling though and maybe be a curator at a museum of science and history one day. Either that or a principal of a high school.

3. I love dogs.

4. Alex and I knew each other in High school since I was in 9th grade. We dated for a long time before we were married.

5. My favorite type of food is Lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, ravioli, pretty much anything with a sauce on it.

6. I want to travel the world with Alex someday. I really want to go to India, Nepal to see the Himalayas and the Sherpa, Hawaii, Rome, Athens, Anywhere in Europe where I can see all the castles, I want to climb Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, go to Beijing and see the Great Wall, travel to Egypt, Go to Lima and see the house that my dad grew up in, Belize, Jamaica, and there are probably a thousand more places I'd like to visit.

HMMM.....

There isn't too much to write about.. so here are a bunch of random facts.

1. I was asked to be the Earth Science Coordinator for the Geology Society, along with a friend of mine who is also an Earth Science major. It is pretty cool because it looks GREAT on your resume', and I finally can do something that will help the Earth Sciences stand out (because of course they are the coolest sciences!). So far, I designed a web page for Earth Science (info, announcements, facts etc), and it's going to be put on the Geology Society web page for the school. We are going to get our school involved with some nationally acclaimed science organizations too. And maybe have a trip or two this summer!

2. Alex and I are both doing alright in school. We are just glad that this is the last winter we'll have to deal with in Rexburg!

3. I want a dog. But we can't have one! (darn apartments!)

4. I'm waiting patiently to see where my placement is for Student Teaching. It would be awesome if I were placed in Rexburg!

5. Our little plant is dying because we haven't had sunlight in several weeks. Poor thing. At least we only paid $8 for it.

6. Rent is due tomorrow!

7. Our house is messy and the laundry needs to be done.

8. I have to take pictures of clouds for my oceanography/meteorology class. The bad thing is that there are two types of clouds present here in winter, snow clouds or no clouds. We are required to take pictures of 8 different types though. I did manage to get a good picture of some fog. That counts as a cloud right?

9. Alex got an official name tag that says "assistant manager" for sonic. Exciting huh!

10. We hope that we can go snow boarding soon!

Well, thats about it. Make sure to tune in next time!

Sky in Motion

I saw this video when I was looking at my "Astronomy Picture of the Day" online. I thought it was so spectacular so I posted it for everyone to enjoy! It's about 4 minutes long, but all the shots are worth the time. There is also music that goes with it, so turn up your speakers!

Our New York Video!

This is a short video of ALL the pictures we took while in New york/New Jersey. It's fast, but fun. Enjoy!

You should probably watch it a few times to get the full effect.

Laura and Alex's New York vacation!

Here are some of our favorite pic's from our trip to New York. Soon we'll post a video of ALL the pictures we took while there!!