last one

not forever; just of 2010.

the kids and i made a last minute trip down to houston monday night, and then on to galveston the next day. a sweet family at our church had 4 tickets to moody gardens that included every attraction at the place, but they had to be used by january 1st.
monday evening we drove down, went to bed, then drove to galveston (about an hour and change...when i drive) the next morning. it was a great day! we went to the aquarium, the discovery museum, a 4D movie, went to lunch at the rainforest cafe, and stayed into the evening for the festival of lights.
as always on a frans outing (especially when allen is not accompanying us; he had to stay and work) there were a few memorable events to brighten the day....
our tickets included a 3D film of our choice (there were several showing), and a ride on the colonel (one of those old timey paddle wheel boats). however, the boat ride was only offered twice that day and we had missed the first one. the second one fell at the same time as the film colby had picked to see which only showed one time that day. the solution; i took molly on the boat an mimi took colby to the film. we got on the boat and there was a concession stand inside. i thought i would be a fabulous mommy and get molly a 'treat'. she wanted orange juice. i got up to the counter and saw a sign that said 'irish coffee'. well, that sounded delicious! it was chilly and i love coffee. and ireland. what i didnt know, because i dont drink and because i'm an idiot, is that what makes the coffee irish, is the liquor. i thought 'irish' just meant it had mint in it or something. imagine my surprise when i took my first drink, and it was a drink; i'm not a sipper. holy nightmare, batman! it was strong! or maybe it wasnt, but it was strong to me because i'm not used to it, and i wasnt expecting it. so then i was faced with a dilemma. what do i do with it?
i was telling allen about it on the phone later that evening....
me: so, i had an adult beverage this afternoon.
allen: WHAT?!?
me: i didnt mean to!
allen: how do you accidentally drink something?
me: (proceed to tell him what happened)
allen: so you drank it?
me: like half of it.
allen: WHAT?!?
me: well, i didnt want to waste it. it cost me six bucks!
allen: you got buzzed!
me: i did not!
allen: you did. and now you're driving drunk around galveston with our kids in the car. you're putting our children in danger.
i assure you he was only giving me a hard time, and i also assure you i was not driving 'buzzed'.
but, hey, lesson learned. irish coffee is not minty.

after we got off the boat we met mimi and colby at the playscape and let the kids play for a little bit. molly got caught up in doing something and (as always must happen when i'm traveling with the kids sans allen) she peed all over herself. i mean all. over. herself. the good thing is she was standing in the dirt...make that mud, so there wasnt really anything for me to clean up other than her of course, and we passed a target just a couple miles outside the park. we were quite a ways from the car, so she had to waddle for a while. we got to the car and i stripped her down to just her shirt. skirt,leggings, socks, shoes and of course underwear all came off. she rode to target like that, and i was able (thankfully!!) to leave her in the car with colby and mimi while i ran in and bought her new stuff to wear.
never a dull moment.

a few days ago she was singing frosty the snowman, and she asked
molly: mommy, when is it going to snow here?
me: i dont know, mo. it doesnt really snow here where we live. well, sometimes it snows in febuary.
molly: can we go to febuary, then?
me: febuary isnt a place, love. its a month.
molly: but i want to go there!
me: ok. we'll go in about 6 weeks.
molly: ok.
problem solved. now i just have to pray for some snow in febuary, or at least a good ice storm.

i'm looking forward to new years eve as always. this will be our seventh year in a row to spend in with our best friends the lamberts and the barners. we go to dinner and then go to someones house (this year its ours) and play games till midnight when we toast the new year and go home! there will be lots off desserts and coffee to be had by all, and i can promise you it wont be irish!

happy new year!!!