Catch up

Christian is turning 3 on the 10th! I can't believe that my baby isn't a baby anymore. He still seems to tiny to me. I look at other moms carrying around their toddlers and think "Boy, that is a big kid to be lugging around!", but I am sure those moms with infants think the same about me. Maybe he will always be my baby.
We have been soooo busy this summer. We first went to Roatan, a small island in the Caribbean near Belize. It is a scuba/snorkeling hot spot. The water was crystal clear and the sand looked like sugar. We really enjoyed relaxing on the beach, usually just the three of us. We stayed in a bungalow in the mix with all the locals and really got to experience island life. Our neighbors made us dinner one night and it was wonderful!! I don't think we ever got used to having all those roosters wake us up at 5:00 am.
A few weeks after Roatan, we went to Lake Murray with a large group of friends. We had such a great time and the weather was perfect! FYI, don't pre-make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the whole trip. The bread turns to mush after the first day! Ryan and I learned how to wake surf and Christian rode on the tube for the first time. Christian also had his first encounter with hungry geese - too funny!!!
Just a few weeks ago we all went to San Diego. Ryan had a mapping conference going on downtown, so Christian and I tagged along. We went to the zoo, wildlife park, Padres game, and Sea World. Christian fell in love with the walruses. La Jolla beach is beautiful! Most of the sand has turned to stone and it is so amazing to see all the shapes the water has cut into the sandstone. We were not impressed with how they drive out there. Crazies! I ended up with the swine flu, which developed into pneumonia, and spent most of my last days in the hotel. The plane ride back was not fun at all.
And then, of course, our biggest news - Christian will be a big brother! He says he wants a boy. Ryan and I are hoping for a boy, too... but we will be happy with whatever God has chosen for us. I am having a such a hard time believing that I will love this baby as much as I love Christian. He is my perfect world! But, I have heard that feeling is completely normal and moms just somehow find enough love for all of their kids. I am pushing the second trimester mark and having fun with this name game. I think boys names are ridiculously hard! For a boy, I am considering Rally and Keegan, though Ryan really likes Dash. For a girl, we like Isla (the "s" is silent like Island) and Taylor. I have always loved the name Taylor for either a boy or girl.
A big congrats to Ryan! He researched and wrote an article explaining the correlation between the recent earthquake activity in North Texas and local oil and gas drilling, An Interpolation of Natural Gas Well Depth in Proximity to Earthquake Epicenters. Today he was contacted by The Fort Worth Petroleum Accountants Society, representing 45 oil and gas companies in the area, and they want him to do a presentation on his article! Way to go, Ryan!!!!
Another congrats to my youngest brother, Kyle... he graduated from Martin HS this year! To finish the school year off, he is vacationing in Albany, NY and New York City with a friend.
This means the youngest of the five of us, Kelli, is going to be a senior. Where does the time go?! I sent her college programs the other day - how weird is that?!
AND!!!! My longtime friend, Amber (Shaw) Main, had her baby boy last week. They named him Jackson "Jack" Ryan. This seems to be the name of the season! Both she and the baby are doing great. She claims they are done having kids - they have a precious girl, Katy, and now a baby boy. Two kids seems like a good number to me.

Roatan

Lake Murray, OK

San Diego