Josh

Josh is our newest family member...our new fish. He is named by Carter and after Josh Hamilton because he IS red and blue. Right now the two of them are sitting on the couch watching the final Rangers vs. Yankees game of last season (that has been watched about 100 times), because what else would Josh Hamilton want to do?!

We love Lucy!

We are all super excited around here! Our cousin Lucy along with Matt & Darah are moving here! Averi and Lucy are only a few months apart and absolutely love each other. Here they are at Christmas...

They both love all the same things and have big plans already. It is amazing to see how God has worked everything out so perfectly for them. What a blessing to have sweet family!

Sweet dreams

How could you not have sweet dreams...

Down, set, hut hut

Monkey see, monkey do. Whatever Carter does...Averi is two steps behind.

love love love

Love is in the air! Some things I love besides the obvious...

Chocolate covered strawberries
Snowskiing
Swimming pools and the smell of sunscreen
Freshly mowed grass
Sprinklers
Laughter
Date nights
Worship music
Cookouts
Card games
Mornings with my kiddos
Touring homes
Friday night football
Going to the lake
Adam's song for everything
Looking through photos
Texas skies at night
Girl's weekends
weddings
dancing

...just to name a few!

Prancer

We said goodbye to our first pet today. Prancer lived a good long life. 13 1/2 months is a LONG time for a fish...especially one that has been on many road trips where he stays in his little tupperware bowl and sloshes around because of Adam's crazy driving.
A little history on Prancer...
He came from the North Pole.
Santa raised him and named him Prancer after his favorite reindeer.
Santa gave him to Carter and told him to take good care of him. And he has!

Our conversation with Carter:
Us - Prancer died last night Carter.
C - (tears begin)...oh no, I'm gonna miss my fish. Do you think he's in heaven?
Us - Yes, Prancer is in heaven. Maybe we can get you another fish.
C - (happy already) That's ok, I still have Raider. Do you think Raider's gonna live much longer?
Us (thinking)...no, Raider's probably not gonna live much longer (she's 12...that's 84, right?!)
C - Well, I think I want to get another fish from Santa because his live a long time. And I think we need to get a puppy from Santa too for when Raider dies.

He's got it all figured out...Christmas is gonna be fun next year!

Go Cheetahs!

The night before his first game...yes, he is sleeping on the floor. That is his favorite place to sleep, right by Averi's bed. He laid everything out and was fully dressed by 5 AM. Yes, 5 AM. And his game wasn't until 10:50. He is a little bit "into it"!

We are the Cheetahs this year. Don't say it too fast or it sounds like Cheatas! :)

Averi has to be dressed in cheering attire.

And Adam coaches with Kevin. It's a family affair...I guess I take the pics! :)

American Idol

We went to American Idol at Hollywood Studios. They take auditions at the park and pick the best ones. The person that wins the finale each night gets to go to the front of the line at a real audition. The judges and announcer looked JUST like the real ones. It was great! Carter really loved it!

Hollywood Studios - back again

The Toy Story ride was all of our favorites...we rode it about 6 times! Everything around it is Toy Story...the army men are walking around playing with all the kids, you can meet the characters, eat at Pizza Planet, go to the arcade. It's the popular place to be at Hollywood Studios. We went back to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play yard that the kids LOVE. We got to visit everything we missed on Sunday. Carter picked out his Goofy hat and wore it nonstop from this point on. We ate at this really cool restaurant The Sci-Fi Drive-in were you sit in converibles and eat under the stars while watching a movie!

Character Breakfast

Averi's getting a little braver! We were one of the only ones there so they both sat down at our table and played with the kids. So fun!

The Goofy's looking at each other!

Meeting the Characters

Averi was a little more shy than Carter. He gave them all high 5's and hugs. So cute!

Epcot

We chose the day that was suppose to be rainy to go to Epcot because there's not a lot to do there with little ones. Plus my parents had to leave today and we wanted them to see each park on the the trip. The rides they do have are really cool...Soarin' is my favorite ride in all of Disney. It makes you feel like a bird flying over mountains and rivers, the Golden Gate bridge, so amazing! The other great rides are Mission: Space and Test Track. They also have a good Nemo ride for kids.
We left Epcot and headed back to the hotel for some swimming! Perfect...the pool all to ourselves and the water was about 95 degrees!

Downtown Disney

At Downtown Disney, we got to eat and shop a little at some fun places. They had some bands playing, a carousel, and a train. The kids each picked out a toy...well Carter picked out a Buzz Lightyear and Averi got CANDY, of coarse. I got a new Disney ornament to add to our collection of vacation ornaments. Then one of the workers that was sweeping stopped and asked Averi, "Where is your crown?" She just looked at her. So she said, "Every princess needs a crown!" Then she started folding a park map and sticking it together with Mickey Mouse stickers to form a crown. Later she came back by and made Carter a pirate hat. So fun! My parents just spoiled the kids a little bit more before we headed home after a long, fun-filled day!