Tuesday, May 26, 2009

South Padre Island

There's nothing better on a long weekend than to hop in the car and set off for a road trip. Our adventure over Memorial Day weekend was to South Padre Island, a 6.5 hour drive all the way to the southern tip of Texas. Of course, it wouldn't be a road trip without our friends Mike and Lisa or without our bikes, so we brought them all!


Hanging out at the beach by our hotel -
the weather was perrrrrrfect

So, it's a bit humorous when the four of us go
on trips together.  You've got me, the obsessive 
photographer capturing every moment possible 
with a still camera; Mike, a fellow photography 
lover who captures the amazing nature shots we 
get on our trips; Neal, who would be another Mike if
he had his own camera to shoot with (more on
that in the near future hopefully :), and Lisa, who has
recently discovered her love for videography and
now brings her video camera everywhere.  It's
impossible to go on a trip with us and not be
filmed in some way.   Above is a picture of Mike
taking a picture of me taking a picture of him.



A flower outside of our hotel

Mike and Lisa on the bike
Oh...what does Lisa have in her hand?
You got it, her video camera!

On Saturday we drove down a stretch of beach
where you are allowed to drive your car.  We
found a cozy spot and set up camp.

Our little spot of heaven

As we were splashing around in the water, 
we saw this absolutely beautiful creature washed
up on shore.  Neal informed us that it was a
Portuguese Man of War, which are supposedly
very common in this area and often confused
with a jellyfish.  Naturally, my first reaction
was tremendous pity for this dying creature,
and I wanted to somehow throw him back in the
water. Unfortunately, however, it does sting like
a jellyfish and some nearby parents became afraid
for their children so they took this beautiful thing
and buried it alive in the sand.  Although I know I
would be extremely protective of my children as well,
it was still very painful to watch.  :-(  


A short video of the Portuguese Man of War

Neal in action!


On this gorgeous evening we decided to take a
little cruise out on the water to see some fireworks.
The sunset was amazing.

This pirate ship tourist adventure that we passed
is very characteristic of the island.  There is a whole
pirate theme going on and you see it everywhere
from shops to restaurants.  One night we ate at
Black Beard's, which had his pictures and history
all over the walls.

South Padre at dusk


Hot biker dudes and chicks



Neal and I in front of the statue of the "Padre"
that South Padre is named after

On our last night we found a miniature golf course!
Since we're all kids at heart, we just had to play.
It was a blast and we had a perfect view of the
water from every hole!




Before driving home we found this neat
"shell shop."  It had everything from lighthouses
to practical joke gadgets, while everywhere was
an overall Christian theme with books and music.
Very unique!

Did I mention that we're kids at heart?  On our
long drive home Lis and I pulled out our newly
purchased coloring books and crayons and got
in touch with the child within.  It was fantastic.
Below us is the cage that houses Lisa's also
newly purchased hermit crabs, which she bought
at the "shell shop."

Monday, May 11, 2009

Mother's Day

Lucky for us, Christine got married the day before Mother's Day so we were able to spend part of Sunday with Lynn before we headed to the airport.  

After church we came back to the house where
Neal was surprised with some belated birthday
gifts from his mom and sister.  Carolyn got him
the "Shamwow" which he had been wanting to
try forever. 

Mother's Day cards!


Sunday, May 10, 2009

Christine & Tony's Wedding

It was a year ago that we threw an engagement party for Christine and Tony, and it was hard to believe that the wedding was already here. The day turned out to be beautiful, even down to the surprisingly good weather in Omaha for this time of year. We were glad to see them so happy, and we wish them every blessing in their new life together.


Pampering the bride before her big day


Carolyn getting her own pampering

On Friday we were able to get into the
reception hall to decorate.  Here is Carolyn
adorning the window sill pillows with 
hand-made pillow cases that Lynn made. 

Neal hanging the Japanese lantern balls

One last shot of the Bailey women (all as Baileys)

Rehearsal dinner at the Upstream Brewery in
Old Market, Omaha.  Neal with I with cousins
Jason and Stacy Ballard.

The happy couple!

Lynn with her brother Rich and his wife Sharon

The bride to be
Isn't she beautiful?!!

Bridesmaids
Debbie, me, Carolyn, Jessica

Since I was in the wedding, I didn't get nearly
as many shots of the ceremony as I would have
liked.  Luckily, Neal was able to shoot a few.


Back to the reception hall, fully decorated

Jason and Stacy

Rich and Sharon

Mother of the Bride  :-)

Neal saying a prayer before the meal

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Happy Birthday to Neal!

For Neal's birthday he chose one of the best Italian restaurants in Houston, a place called Arcodoro.  We had a fantastic meal and made sure to save enough room for the dessert that awaited us at Mike and Lisa's afterward.  :-)


As one of his birthday surprises, Lisa made Neal
his favorite cake - red velvet, only in cupcake form.
Mmmm.....was it good!!
  

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Bachelorette Party!

Christine is getting married in THREE weeks so it was time to give her a little last minute fun with the girls.  Carolyn flew down for the event and had a fun evening planned.  We started at Christine's new home with games and gifts, went out for Italian food at Vincent's, and ended with a few hours at the dueling piano bar - Howl at the Moon.  It was a really fun evening and we were glad to get some quality time with the bride before the big day.

Bride to be!


Neal is the only guy I've ever known that was
allowed at a Bachelorette party.  Actually, he's
minus a hat but was our chauffeur for the evening.
He drove us around town in a 12-passenger van
that was filled with smokin' girls.  It was a tough
job but someone had to do it.  :-)

Howl at the Moon

Havin' a wild time

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter Sunday

Easter at the Slevens! The day started out dark, cloudy, and pouring rain but by noon, everything had passed, the sky cleared up, the sun came out, and it turned out to be a beautiful day.

Easter baskets for our hosts

Deviled eggs from our dyed masterpieces

Sam and her friend joined us for a bit

Enjoying the day, taking a walk around the neighborhood



On our walk, we spotted a turtle trying to find food
in this mucky water, and decided to move him
somewhere he might like a little better.


Poor little guy may have been a bit upset with us
for moving him, but we're pretty sure he liked
his new home much more.

There he goes!