First Field Trip of the New Year....USS Texas

Saturday we decided to drive out to the USS Texas, the oldest remaining dreadnought battleship. She escorted Allied convoys across the Atlantic during World War I and entered World War II escorting convoys, shelling Axis-held beaches for the North African campaign and the Normandy Landings before being tranferred to the Pacific Theater late in 1944 to provide naval gunfire support during the Battle of Iwo Jima and Battle of Okinawa. Texas was decomissioned in 1946, having earned five battle stars for service in World War II.
Wow.


The girls loved the ship. I couldn't believe how big it was and Ben felt very patriotic. Audrey kept saying it was the best day of her life, until we decided to stop and see the San Jacinto Battlegrounds and she started to get eaten by mosquitoes. Apparently being eaten can turn the best day of your life into the worst day of your life.

We walked around, read the gravestones, found the monument that now stands in place of the tree where the injured Sam Houston had Santa Anna turn Texas over to him,(Remember the Alamo!!) and decided that the San Jacinto museum was too expensive for a bunch of tired kids. Another day. We then drove onto the ferry where Audrey decided it was again the best day of her life. Now to plan February's field trip.

A New Year

Today I am starting on my quest for perfection, or at least my quest to be the kind of person who can make it out the door without spending fifteen minutes looking for the keys. Most of the time I just walk around trying not to be a dork. I think we all walk around with images in our head of who we would like to be. Mine would be someone who is smart, perceptive, talented, and confident. Unfortunately I am stuck with me. On the reverse side though I also am stuck with an amazing husband and four beautiful, funny, inspiring girls. I want to teach them to expand their minds, to never be afraid to try something new, to never fear saying no, to truly see people and take the time to talk to them, and to never stop growing. This year instead of a quest for perfection I think I might focus on getting organized enough to be creative and carefree (yes, they do go hand in hand) and then to go on exploring even while the dishes get piled in the sink.