The Queen Bee

Last weekend, we decided it was time to scope out our local beach, Galveston, TX. Galveston was severely damaged in September 2008 by Hurricane Ike and the evidence of that destruction is still very noticeable. However, the city is in the throes of reconstruction and it's original beauty and unique coastal history shines through.

The little bees, blind to the damage, were ecstatic for the impromptu trip. Hubbee and I were interested to see how the little bees would react to a beach so very different from those in the Pacific Northwest. Bearing that in mind, Hubbee suggested a walk along the beach to acclimate the little bees before changing into bathing suits. We will probably not make that same mistake again...

Busy bee, following Hubbee's lead, headed to the surf to "test" the water. I would guess that it only took two or three little piggy toes submerged in the water before the uttered proclamation of "WARM!!" fell from his lips. With that said, bathing suits were no longer necessary...my two little bees were immediately wet, warm and happy playing in the surf. Busy bee had little apprehension playing in the chest-high waves and I will have to remember to "keep an eye" on that boy in the water. Bella bee was slightly more skittish but seemed to be content to stay by my side and she happily dug in the sand for hours.

We are greatly looking forward to many more beach trips. But in the meantime, here are a few pictures to document our first Gulf Coast experience as a hive.

Bella bee collecting shells

Busy Bee - soaked and happy!

Testing it out

Bella bee pretending to be a bird

Riding the surf

Since my last posting the hive has been caught up in an absolute whirlwind. I am not even sure where to start, so I will once again fall back on my favorite form of "catch-up"...dun, dun dun...the ever-handy LIST!

-Busy bee started preschool at a local Lutheran church and greatly enjoyed going to school every Tuesday and Thursday morning. The only activity his sweet teacher Mrs. Cindy claimed he never took part in was singing. His progress since the start of preschool has been astonishing to witness, as a parent. He can now count to 20, add small numbers together, write his name, use scissors, say the Pledge of Allegiance, and do a small amount of sight reading (just to name a few.) Hunter was also bitten by the Love Bug while at preschool. Aidan, a beautiful, tall, blond girl was the object of his fancy!

- We made our annual trek to the Puyallup Fair (also known in WA as "The Fair".) I love, Love, LOVE fairs...and fair food...and carni rides where half of the thrill of riding is wondering whether on not the equipment is actually put together correctly...and fair animals...oh, and did I mention fair food!!! I hope to pass my love of fairs onto our children. So far, so good.

- At the end of September we suffered a miscarriage. We had been pregnant for 12 weeks only to find at our first ultrasound the absence of a heartbeat. I had been very worried at the onset of this pregnancy because it was SO different from my previous two. I was constantly sick and craved only trash (i.e. candy bars, soda, chips.) I remember telling Hubbee that I didn't want to tell anyone we were pregnant until we heard the heartbeat. We were told after the whole ordeal that we had what was medically referred to as an anembryonic gestation. Initially I was relieved that it was over but then I was mad because I felt as if 3 month of my life had been wasted being sick. The little bees also had a hard time understanding the loss. But luckily, God is good and honestly has our best interests at heart...which we quickly realized in the months following the miscarriage.

- October brought with it Busy bee's 4th birthday. As we only give "friend" parties every other year, this was a small occasion at Charlie's Safari with the hive and a dear family whom we love, the Wiens. Despite my attempts to keep it low-key, Busy bee also celebrated his birthday at preschool, Sunday school, and Awana. All the festivities had Bella bee very confused...especially when her birthday (and only 1 party) rolled around a few months later.

Busy bee's Favorites
(at the age of 4)

Colors: Red, Orange and Green

Foods: Hot dogs, pickles, and chocolate milk

Toy: Hot Wheels

Book: "Cars, Cars, Cars"

Movie: Transformers

Song: "Race Cars are so Fast" (a song by mommy)

Saying: "That was totally AWESOME!"

Friends: Hudson, Ian, Zachary and Hunter B

-We had our first lost tooth not too long after Busy bee's 4th birthday. According to our dentist, the tooth would either need to be pulled or a baby root canal would need to be performed. We opted for the pulled tooth. Busy bee was such a champ during the whole process...not even a single tear!

- We added a new member to our family on a late October trip out to Grandpa and Grandma's in eastern Washington. As we had no plans to add to our family, we were surprised when we came across Bianca and found that we couldn't possibly bear to leave her behind. She was white, surprisingly fast, strong, and had some room for a little extra junk in her trunk. It was a deal we couldn't refuse and I couldn't be happier. Here's a few pics of my new baby!

- Halloween found us once again at our church's party, Light up the Night. A huge community-wide party with tons of candy, festival games, blow-up toys, great food, and of course, the best of friends. Busy bee and Bella bee were also once again fortunate to get awesome costumes made by their Granna, a sewing extraordinaire! Both were ready to "cook" up some fun in a pair of darling chef costumes. They were definitely the "Day's Special!"

- Da, Granna and Uncle M were able to visit in November and share Thanksgiving (and Uncle M's birthday) with us. We always love having family visit because it gives us a great opportunity to take some time off from our busy life at the hive and go see the beautiful Pacific Northwest. We took Granna for her first visit to the Pacific ocean and Uncle M for a birthday outing to Seattle.

- For the first time in our marriage we decided to cut a real Christmas tree. Luckily we know the best place in eastern WA to do such a thing...The Sprouffske Christmas Tree Farm! Even luckier for us is that we know the owners and count them as dear friends. It was a fun day filled with tree cutting, fresh picked apples from the orchard, friends, hot chocolate and games. What a wonderful Christmas tradition.

- Christmas quickly came and with it came loads of snow! So much snow in fact, that Uncle A's flight out of Portland was cancelled for a few days allowing him to drive up to spend Christmas with us. We were also lucky enough to have Grandpa and Grandma spend Christmas with us too. Luckily the snow didn't keep family or Santa away!

- Just a few days after Christmas, I had to have Sullivan put to sleep. He was suffering daily from seizures that could not be controlled by medications. I was sad to lose my canine friend of 5 years.

- Bella bee turned 3 in January. Per her request, we had a Pinkalicious party! Never has so much pink been seen...even the gentlemen of her party were obliged to wear the more manly form of pink - red. Bella bee very much enjoyed planning and shopping for her party. Next time I will be sure to watch the shopping cart because we magically ended up with much more party treats, decorations, and favors that I remember putting in.

Bella bee's Favorites

(at the age of 3)

Color: Pink (go figure)

Food: Macaroni & Cheese

Toy: Princesses

Book: "Pinkalicious"

Movie: anything with princesses

Song: "Baby Mine "

Saying: "Excuse Me!" (not politely, I might add)

Friends: Aubrey and Addison

- Bella bee started ballet in January. She loves wearing the leotards, the tights, and the shoes. She doesn't even mind having her hair done. I am quite sure that Bella bee in ballet is the cutest thing in this world.

- With the end of Hubbee's military career looming, Hubbee started the job searching process with a service member's head hunting company called Cameron Brooks. January and February were a blur of resumes, job conferences, Army paperwork, practice interviews, military farewells, real interviews and then thankfully a job offer in the beginning of March. During a notable time in our country's economical history riddled with immense job layoffs and country-wide hiring freezes, we felt we were blessed to receive an offer from Hubbee's number one choice, Exxon Mobil.

- 3 weeks after receiving Hubbee's job offer we were on the road headed for our newest home in Houston, TX. It was our 5th move during our 4 years of marriage. We completely felt that we were supposed to be Houston as there was no possible human way that we could have made all the pieces fit (or even work) to get us here in that short of a time frame. We quickly put our WA house up for sale after receiving Hubbee's job offer. Granna flew out to stay with the little bees while we did a quick house hunting trip. On our second day in Houston we found a beautiful, new, 5 bedroom house for an amazing price. We flew back home only to have the movers come the very next day. And a day later, we were en route to Houston. We drove south through Oregon and California where we made a pit stop at Disneyland. The little bees had a wonderful day at the "Happiest Place on Earth." They greatly enjoyed Pixie Hollow, meeting Mickey, and many of the rides. We then headed east through Arizona, New Mexico and into Texas. We arrived in Houston on Wednesday, signed for our house on Friday and Hubbee started his new job on Monday.

- Unfortunately, while on our trip down we were saddened to find out that my sweet and beautiful niece, Kendra Edwards Naisbitt was killed instantly in a tragic car accident on March 21st, 2009. She died at the age of 23 and left behind two sweet little boys, Travis (3) and Tanner (1 1/2). Words cannot describe how much she will be missed but I am so grateful for the memories I have and the for time that the Lord allowed us to share, however briefly, with Kendra. http://www.utahtributes.com/search/show_listing/6171

- We enjoyed our first Easter in our new house. The little bees were very happy that the Easter Bunny was able to find them despite their change of address. Busy bee said, "That must be one smart bunny!"

- I celebrated my 27th birthday in early April. Hubbee, the little bees, and I went out to celebrate the occasion at Benihana. The little bees loved to watch our chef cook in front of us. The sliced onion and squash locomotive was a huge hit...not to mention the piece of birthday cheese cake that Bella bee scarfed down before I could even get a bite. Busy bee was very disappointed that there was no party and has repeatedly told me since that we need to make sure Hubbee's birthday has all the things he feels mine was lacking.

Like I said, it's been a whirlwind...but we've enjoyed the ride.