Brad in Honduras

This trip was all Brad expected and more! He loved every minute of it. He saw stingrays, manta rays, moray eels, turtles, scorpion fish, lobster and crab. The only disappointment was not seeing the whale shark or octopus. He enjoyed spending time with his son-in-law Calder and Calder's dad, Ric and brother Coulson.

They were on the boat for 7 days. There were 14 divers on the boat along with a staff of 7. He did a total of 21 dives. 3 or 4 of them were night dives which he loved. They saw different things diving at night. While there Brad and Coulson got their advanced open-water PADI certification.

The colors - incredible! He says words cannot describe it.

He explored this wreck at about 100 ft.

They saw lots of these moray eels. They remind me of Ursula's helpers on The Little Mermaid! That's all I can think about when I see these pictures. Remember the creepy voices they had?? Ivy will remember- she's seen it about 200 times!

Here is a cute picture of Brad and our son-in-law Calder.

Brad said these turtles seemed very peaceful and were fun to watch. It just glided by peacefully not bothered at all by the visitors. He reminds me of the surfer-dude turtle in Nemo.

Like I said in the other post, Brad was supposed to get home Saturday. We were at the condo and expecting him to call when he flew in to Houston around 3:00. Well, Ivy called around 2:00 and said "Dad's stuck in Honduras!" WHAT??? A little-bitty plane flew them from the island of Utila to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Apparently, it was too overloaded so they threw Brad's and another guy's luggage off the plane and it was supposed to be coming on another plane an hour later. Well, guess what?? He was supposed to board his plane in an hour. This is not like here in the US where you check your baggage and feel fairly confident that if it's not there, that it will get to you in a day or so. Brad was 100% confident that if he left, that's the last he would see of all his dive gear. It did show up on another plane but a little too late. So, with everybody else gone, Brad spent the night in a Honduran hotel. It was fine although we were worried about him. Since he couldn't use his cell, he had emailed Ivy, his parents and Andrea and Zack for somebody to let me know. He knew if I didn't hear from him that day, I would have freaked out! Thanks, Ivy! She was my first-responder.

There are plenty more pictures and videos where this came from! Just ask Brad and he'll give you more details. I told him he should write this blog but....................

Our Week at the Lake

The kids and I got back into town today after a wonderful week at Lake Sam Rayburn. Thanks so much Mary and Jerry (Brad's parents) for the week at the condo! Also, happy to hear that you are reading the blog! I'll type more about Brad's trip in a little while. It certainly deserves it's own entry. Whitney, Evan and I left last Friday, drove the two hours over (about 10 miles north of Jasper, TX) and checked into the condo. It was wonderful. The place was huge- two story, three big bedrooms, fireplace, two living areas, etc. It was older and decorated really homey, like an old lady's house! We had a beautiful view of the lake. We were surrounded by pine trees. We loved it. Brad joined us late Sunday for Easter dinner. He was supposed to be there Saturday but that didn't work out- more on that later! We cooked a ham, dyed eggs, etc. Late Sunday evening, Evan's friend Blake joined us! His mom brought him to meet us. We can always count on Blake to liven up the party. He is a fun kid that we love having around. We feel that now that we're down to two kids at home, friends are welcome! We spent a wonderful, relaxing week sleeping late, playing tennis, playing ping-pong, sitting in the hot tub, tanning, swimming and going to the driving range. There was nowhere really to go that was close enough so we stayed in the resort the whole time except a couple of grocery runs. It was so fun because we met so many nice people. The kids made friends with some kids from Ohio and they were inseparable the whole week. They had 24 hour access to the clubhouse, pool, ping-pong, movies- they were in heaven. Now it's back to the real world!

"Evan the Beast"

Beast- that's how Evan likes to describe himself. He is 13 (14 in August).
Andrea challenged me to post something funny about Evan this week. Well, Evan is always funny! When Taylor left on his mission 6 weeks ago, he challenged Evan to work out and get in shape. Evan struggled to do one pull up then, and now he can do 10 or 20 depending on the time of day and what other exercise he's already done. The funny part is that he's gotten so tall and thin that occasionally he loses his pants while he's on the pull-up bar! Although I haven't gotten a shot of that, note the striped boxers beginning to show. Thank goodness for belts! Someone asked me the other day if Evan was "getting enough to eat". Rest assured that he is! He has grown 5 or 6 inches this year and there are no signs of him stopping. He started baseball this week so that's a sure sign of spring. We love to watch him play sports and look forward to another fun season!

Spring has Sprung!

All of us, including the dog, have been LOVING this weather! It is beautiful. I am so looking forward to our week at Sam Rayburn. I'm hoping for more wonderful weather, a pool that's not too cold, and a few great walking trails. The kids and I will leave Friday (tomorrow) and Brad will meet us there Saturday after he flies in from Honduras! I can't wait to hear all about the trip. It's been really weird not to be able to pick up the cell and call him. He will only be able to stay until Monday morning. He has to get back to the real world of work. The kids and I will stay all week and come back late Friday. Evan's friend Blake will meet us up there Monday.

My First Tag- Thanks Lynetta

5 THINGS I WAS DOING 10 YEARS AGO
1. Teaching Taylor how to keep his desk orderly in his 3rd grade classroom.
2. Arguing with Ivy's 5th grade teacher about a globe project- I still remember that
3. I think I was Relief Society President
4. Started subbing at DS Perkins where Evan went to Pre-K (haven't stopped)
5. A new sister in the ward, Kristin Walledom called me for the first time for something and we discovered we both had a 5th grade child. Wow- in some ways it seems like forever ago and others, like yesterday!

5 THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST
1. Mail an Easter basket to Taylor in the MTC
2. Pick up prescriptions at Walgreens
3. Precision Prints to buy Evan a pair of baseball pants for practices
4. Call Shady Oaks Kennel to reserve a spot for the dog next week
5. Start on the invitations for the church Teacher Appreciation Dinner

5 SNACKS I ENJOY
1. Funyuns
2. Planters Cheese Puffs in the can (like Cheetos, only round)
3. 100-Cal. Chocolate Cupcakes (glad you love them, Lynetta!- but don't you wish they had the little loopy white line of icing like the real ones??)
4. Cheese dip and chips
5. Georgia's or Joe's Party House cake

5 PLACES I HAVE LIVED
1. Lake Charles, LA
2. Sulphur, LA
3. Salt Lake, Logan & Tremonton, UT (on my mission)
4. Ruston, LA
5. Hot Springs, AR

5 THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A BILLIONAIRE
(the other bloggers answers to this seem extremely conservative! We're talking a BILLION, ladies)
1. Of course, pay off everything
2. Buy something HUGE to live in on a beautiful lake or beach
3. Set up college funds for my kids and my nieces and nephews and my friends kids, too for that matter
4. Give lots of it to the underprivileged
5. Travel the world with my husband, kids and their families and friends

5 BAD HABITS
1. Not folding the laundry right when it comes out of the dryer
2. Spending too much time on the computer
3. Being a horrible back-seat driver when Whitney drives
4. Staying in bed too long in the morning then having to rush and be stressed
5. Not excercising like I should

5 JOBS I HAVE HAD
1. I worked at the Sno- Cone stand on Maplewood Drive. Same green building only it was across the street and down a bit
2. A bank teller and switchboard operator
3. An insurance policy "typer"
4. A pre-school "creative movement"/gymnastics teacher
5. A substitute school teacher!

5 THINGS PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME
1. I've been to DisneyWorld four times and in my opinion, it's the funnest place on the Earth
2. I always wanted a big girl and boy and then a little boy and girl a few years later- that's exactly what I got (although now they are all big)
3. I joined the church in the Lake Charles Ward when I was a junior in high school along with my family
4. I love Peeps (yellow mashmellow chickens)
5. I hate Ranch dressing

Ok, I tag Ivy and Andrea!

Where in the World is Brad Pogue ?

Since we know from Andrea's blog that Matt Lauer is clowning on the rodeo circuit, let's play "Where in the World is Brad Pogue?" But since the pictures have given it away and most of you already know I'll tell you he's in Honduras. He's aboard the Utila Aggressor, a live-aboard diving boat with our son-in-law Calder, along with Calder's dad and younger brother. Calder served his mission in Honduras so this will be a double treat for him. He will stay a little longer than the others to visit some people from his mission. Trust me, this is a trip that Brad has dreamed about for years. Ever since we've been married Brad has subscribed to Scuba Diving magazines, talked about getting certified and watched all the "ocean life" shows on the nature channels, etc. So last year he finally took the time and money to get certified. About that time Ivy got engaged to a young man who is a diver and who's whole family dives! How perfect is this?? Before the wedding even happened, this trip was in the works. He flew out of Houston this morning and is on the boat tonight. He'll be out there a week and I'm sure he will come back with lots of stories. I'm positive that this will be better than diving in the Gulf or Smith Lake! Evan couldn't go on this trip but also recently got his scuba certification. Taylor wants to dive when he gets home in two years so I'm sure there will be more trips to look forward to. I'll be content to sit on the deck and read!

MTC Life

Taylor is alive and well! We get an email from him every Friday and an occasional piece of "real mail". He sent us these pictures last week. He is doing great and says the French is coming along nicely. He sounds positive about everything, loves the people in his district and can't wait to get to France! For those of you who don't know Taylor, he is the fourth guy from the left. Some of the others must be super tall because he is right at 6 feet and looks tiny in comparison. He'll be in the Provo MTC until April 8th. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support for him!

Princess Driver

Yeah! My first picture posted......anyway, thought I would share this funny picture of Whitney. She got this crown from the Cinderella play that her good friend Kathryn was in. She keeps it in the van and insists on wearing it every time she drives. It is so embarrassing when people look and wonder.....she just waves. This is part of Whitney's goofy personality that we all love. Never a dull moment! After church Sunday in the parking lot, Lily Z. noticed that Whitney was headed for the driver's seat and yelled, "Is she gonna wear her crown??"

Guess I'm a Blogger Now!

Ok, I really need to just get in the habit of updating this thing. Honestly I'm a little intimidated by it all. I thought my blog was still a secret! haha I made a few coments to some of you and...voila......I'm all out there! Well, it's for the best. I'll try not to be too boring.

FHE activity last night was fun. When Taylor came home from BYU-I, he brought home a fish aquarium. Evan has been bugging us ever since to set it up with fish. So last night was the night. We all headed to PetSmart in the rainstorm to get fish. For those of you who don't know, Whitney detests all animals! As soon as we got in the store she swore the chinchillas were making her eyes burn. It was all drama from there. Evan did get a few cool fish and we got them home alive. The lady said they could live in the plastic bag for no more than an hour and a half. We cut it close since we had to stop for ice cream on the way home. An extra plus is that they are still all alive this morning! We ran into Lindsay V. and her husband shopping for fish. Whitney said, "Are y'all buying fish, too?? How random!"....and it kind of was!

I just want to say how much I love reading all of your blogs! I don't want to freak people out, and I really don't consider myself a stalker (at least not in a bad way....) but I check all of yours almost everyday. MaryRuth was the first blog I got interested in. Now it's everybody, Lisa, Lynetta, Andrea, Vickie, the Baxter girls, Sharon Patton, Jenn Sorenson, Jenn's sister-in-law Jenn, etc. Now new friends like Jenn M. and Laura G. ; the list goes on and on...............I love it!

The Beginning of the Blog!

Everybody has a blog now! I know I'm one of the last to start one of these. If you know me, you know how technology-challenged I am. Be patient! I'm not sure how often I'll actually post but hopefully I'll get the hang of it. At least I can put up pictures when I get them from Taylor in France or Ivy and Calder in Minnesota!