CRUISE!!!!

It's a miracle. George and I are going on an actual, very real, already booked vacation!! We haven't gone anywhere other than to see family, to a family lake house or to a family cabin since our honeymoon 5 years ago!! Now with three kids we are more in need of a break alone than ever. So, we are going on a cruise!!! We've always wanted to go and this November we'll be hitting the seas on a Carnival cruise with some friends from church. It's so fun to have already made friends with people we are willing to travel with (and who are willing to travel with us!).

It's also nice to know that the money I'd been setting aside in our "vacation" fund has actually paid for a vacation instead of something else which has usually happened in the past. We've always had good intentions to go somewhere but just have never bitten the bullet and booked something. I'm soooo excited!!

Happy Birthday, Brooke!!

Our little girl turned two today.  I can't believe she's getting so big.  We took her picture in front of her birthday flag which she was so proud of.  She picked out her special shoes for the picture and since it was her birthday I didn't bother to tell her that they didn't exactly match. We had a small party at the house for her and some friends from church.  My parents and brother came in from The Woodlands to celebrate too.  We were able to talk to George's family via Skype & video chat online so that was nice as well.  The kids played in Brooke's blow-up pool and had cake and ice cream.  The big gift for this year was a kitchen set.  As you can see from some of the pictures below... it was a hit for the guests as well.  The 3 boys you'll see playing were 14 months & 10 months old and they loved it!  Brooke is enjoying it too and I'm sure tomorrow when she has more time to play she'll love cooking up all sorts of creations.  She also got a table and chairs for her room so she can color/draw and maybe eventually have tea parties.  

We love you Brooke!! Thanks for the joy you bring to our lives.

Shots = No Fun!!

Hudson & Hallie had their 4 month check up this morning. With the move, finding a new doctor, being a "new" patient and travel this summer we were just now able to get them in to see our new doc. So, their 4 month check up came 4 days after they turned 5 months old... oops!!

Anyway, both got a clean bill of health and second round of immunizations. Unfortunately this doctor doesn't use "combo" vaccines. So, poor guy/girl had to have five shots each. They hated every minute of it. The only positive side has been that in combo with that/Tylenol & their crying episode at the doctor -they've been sleepy this afternoon (which translates to naps for EVERYONE including Mommy!).

In answer to all the questions I've gotten over the last few weeks (and will continue to get)...

Hudson - 14 lb. 4 oz; 26 3/4" long which puts him in 10% for weight, 75% for height.

Hallie - 11 lb. 10 oz; 25" long which puts her in 5% for weight, 50% for height.

Brooke-isms

Okay - so I have to admit I am stealing this idea from my friend Ashley. If you know Brooke at all you know that she has always been a "talker" but it is so much fun now to listen to her talk and hear the crazy, funny and smart things she says. So, here is a list of her latest phrases...

Gross, Hallie/Hudson! (when I'm changing their diapers)
I listen to music...in my room (w/ her CD Player... she LOVES it!!)
Come on, Mommy/Daddy.
See ya later
I got my keys (as she's pretending to leave the house)
Hey kids (to Hudson & Hallie)
"Hello, yeah, cool" (while talking on her phone)
No, I'm good (when you ask to help her with something)
Take a picture (anytime she thinks she's doing something cute)
Momma hold you/Daddy hold you (when she wants to be held)
and our personal favorite...
"it's nice" --- usually in reference to her room when you ask her if she's playing there.

Thanks Ash for the idea!! Now if only I could charge my camera again I could post some video I've taken too! UGH!! I blame this on the movers... I can't find ANYTHING around here! :)

Colorado

We had a great time in Colorado with my parents. We hung around the cabin for the most part but the relaxation was really nice. It was the first plane ride for the kids so that was an adventure. I'll have pictures of that soon once they are developed. My big camera was too big to carry on with all our other goodies, so I used a disposable. They all did really well and Nanny & I survived it too! :) The weather was AWESOME... hardly over 80 degrees. Coming back to TX heat was miserable!! We missed George for sure and look forward to going back with him sometime!

Brooke enjoyed hanging out on the deck in the morning with all her sleeping pals - Baby, Baby George (yes, that's right), Froggy, Blanket & her new Moose from the North Pole.
Hallie got to spend some morning time out on the deck with Paw Paw too.
Paw Paw has a way of making Hudson crack up!

The North Pole

The kids and I just got back from a week-long trip to my parents cabin in Cripple Creek, CO. While there we took a trip to The North Pole. It's a family tradition. My parents have taken all their kids and now, grandkids to this theme park just outside of Colorado Springs. There are kiddie rides - that even grown ups can enjoy. You can also visit with Santa and have your picture taken with him. Brooke was scared of him this time so only Hudson & Hallie were able to take a picture with him. Brooke made me laugh because she would go into his house, but would only stand in the corner. I signed the guestbook though - so at least he'll know she came to visit. :)

A funny side note: As with any theme park, there are pictures and statues and signs of the main character all over the place. Since the North Pole is all about Santa, he can been seen in all sorts of places. In one area, just outside of some restrooms Brooke looked up and saw a statue of him and said "Noah!". Do I need to remind you that she's a minister's kid??!

Plus 5

We've been in College Station for three Wednesdays now. I guess it's finally starting to feel normal to be here. I have to be honest...I've felt like a visitor for a while. I think part of it is that we didn't have a "going away" party at Northlake. Our last Sunday there was suprisingly normal and I don't feel like we were able to say goodbye. I'm kind of sad about that. I know we'll see them again because we've still have family up there, but I wish I could have been able to properly say goodbye. So, if you're from Northlake and are reading this... know that I wish it had been different and I wish we could have formally told you how grateful we were to have been able to serve there for 3 years. Maybe that would have given me a little bit of closure that I think is still lacking. I know all of our stuff is here and we don't have a home to go back to up there...but sometimes I do still feel like a tourist in a new city.

I've returned!

Wow... after a long break from blogging, I'm back. We have had a crazy few weeks and so much has been "blog worthy" but I've been either without an internet connection, CF card adapter for my camera to upload pictures and now our blue tooth for the desktop computer is missing as well.
We are slowly settling in to our house in College Station. We've been living with boxes half-unpacked for a while and then we've been traveling some too so it has made "living" a little challenging.
We spent this weekend at our family lake house in Austin. It was so nice to be able to relax. I've included some pictures of the fun. Brooke took her first ride on the jet ski and her first dip into a lake (or as she called it a "swimming poooool"). Then we had a great time watching fireworks from the yard - this year we had three separate shows within our view which is the first time in YEARS that has happened.