Disney Cruise

I have been wanting to post about our Disney trip for quite some time, but with almost 1500 pictures to go through I thought I wouldn't be able to do it! I finally realized that there is absolutely NO way I could write about everything we did while we were on the cruise and at Disney World!!!

This trip was a dream for me, something that I had on my bucket list and thought would never even be possible! What could be better than doing Disney with my family, especially when the kids are at an age when they thought EVERYTHING was magical!

Here are some of the highlights of our cruise. Unfortunately, they are not in any type of order!

Ally's favorite thing was meeting the characters, which started the day we arrived on the boat! We stood in many lines and waited many hours (or what seemed like hours) to meet each and every one of them! Carter tolerated it for the most part, but I think his favorite part of the cruise was being in the ocean and going to the beach!

My favorite picture from the trip!!!
Carter dressed as a pirate for the Pirate Party!

Carter signed up to participate in the potato car races and LOVED it...and he almost won!

The "Pirates in the Caribbean" party was really neat. We missed part of it because the kids were exhausted that day!
Look who found Peter Pan while he was chasing Captain Hook!
We rented bikes at Castaway Cay and had a blast! It was one of the highlights for sure! Carter was so happy to get to ride a bike, and the island was BEAUTIFUL!!!
Dance party on Castaway Cay...
The characters changed outfits many times throughout the trip, and they even made appearances on the beach!

The big kids got to go jet skiing! It was my first time...and my last with Sam as the driver! The water was stunning, and we even got to "pet" a starfish the guide caught!

One of the stops was Atlantis in the Bahamas. It was an awesome place, although it was very chilly that day so no one wanted to swim.
The crew (minus Mom) arriving in Florida very early in the morning! We left College Station at 2:30 am!


Here we are all decked out for the safety drill!

There are a million more pictures that document how much fun we had, but I will stop here! The kids were great, and everyone else enjoyed their first cruise! I can't wait until we do it again!

Rodeo Day

The kids' school has a Rodeo Day every year right before Spring Break. They loved all the activities and crafts, but the best part for them was that they got to dress up and wear their boots!!

Ally's favorite thing to do was ride the horses!

Carter loved the "fishing" the best!

T-Ball

Carter started playing t-ball a couple of weeks ago, which he absolutely LOVES!! He has only had one game so far, but he had the opportunity to play several positions. He said he liked batting and playing pitcher the best. Look for more updates soon!

Carter Turns 5!!!

I still cannot believe that Carter turned 5 on December 11! Where has the time gone?!?! As you can see, we celebrated the big birthday in Superhero style! It was a ton of fun!! This isn't a great picture, but the cake was fabulous! My friend, Ashley Schlinke, made it with all of Carter's favorite superheros...Batman, Superman and Spiderman!

Carter had tons of friends at his party (he is a social butterfly), and one very special Uncle Bubba.

What a special boy and special day!

End of 2010 Highlights

Here are some of the big (and small) events that helped us round out 2010 (in no particular order). Keep checking back for more highlights! Ally had her first dance recital at the George Bush Library at the beginning of December. She LOVED it, and we are already counting down until the big recital on May 14!

The kids' preschool has an annual fundraiser called "Dinner (or Breakfast) with Santa". It is a fun event filled with crafts, food and Santa!

Three generations!

Carter played flag football in October and November for the first time. He seemed to like it, although some of the games were a little warm!

We have been on MANY bike rides since the weather cooled off! You can't tell from this picture, but Ally is behind me in her "bike seat" sound asleep!

New Pictures!!

After having SEVERAL people mention that I needed to update the blog, I decided to actually do it today! Here are some pictures we had made before Christmas by our wonderful photographer, Sarah Giles. She is so talented, especially with the kiddos. These are my favorite pictures, although there are many more great ones! I'm sure these will be a welcome to relief to those of you who actually still read this thing (no more stitches!).

Stitches (warning: graphic pictures)

Ally fell off the couch on Monday night and ended up busting her chin open. It was crazy how it happened, and we still aren't sure how she hit her chin in the just the right place to cause such damage! After lots of blood and a few tears (she was VERY brave), we decided to take her in to get stitches. Not exactly how I planned on spending my Monday night, but the doctor said it was a good thing we came in when we did. I think the wound grew on our way to the hospital!

Here is a picture after she actually got the stitches. It was pretty traumatic on her (and me), but I will admit that I stayed strong and didn't cry! It took 2 nurses, the doctor, me and Sam to hold her down to get the numbing shots and stitches in the chin! However, I honestly think she did better than I would have done if it had been me!!

Ally enjoyed the one-on-one time with her parents...and the ipad! She happily played it for the almost 2 hours we waited!
OUCH!!!!
This is a picture right after we got back to the room (about 15 minutes after getting to the ER). She was tired and a little anxious about all the fuss being made about her chin!
At least now we can say that the first set of stitches is out of the way! I'm honestly surprised it took this long for one of them to get them!

A BIG thank you goes out to my mom for coming over to watch Carter while we took Ally to the ER! She is THE BEST!!!!!