discovery cove

We headed down to Orlando for fall break. We enjoyed the Disney parks as always, but our main reason for going was to go to Discovery Cove (by Sea World). It had snorkeling (those pictures are on the waterproof camera, but trust me, it was great), pet and feed stingrays and feed, pet and ride dolphins, also a lazy river and unlimited food. Oh yeah and an aviary...

still shot of Carter and his arch nemesis

second time there Jared loved it

Claire riding Izzy

The family photo

we all warmed up to the stingrays eventually and fed them their lunch

taking a break at the lazy river

so much fun

happy fall y'all

best part of these pictures is that I took them in our yard

hot tub time machine

We are finally having cool weather, so we fired up the hot tub for the first time this past weekend. HEAVENLY. It was a crisp 54 degrees outside and a warm 101 degrees in the hot tub. OK, for the "time machine part"(I didn't just use the movie title for no reason, that would be silly)...all three kids (the boys finally talked Claire into it) jumped into the pool several times and swam around and then hurried back to the hot tub. This brought back memories of my family staying at various hotels through out the years and the fun we would have doing the same thing. I am not as adventurous anymore. I stayed in the warm water and enjoyed watching my brave kids and enjoyed my memories of when I was so brave.

Hamlet and Carter

I am trying to write a paper on Hamlet, but I keep looking at this.

Funny thing Carter said after studying for a Health test..."mom, I got it, I know how I can gain weight...I will eat two baconators and sit on the couch all day". He makes me laugh everyday.

gotcha

Six years ago this princess came into our lives. We spent the weekend celebrating her and remembering when she joined our family. We looked back at journal entries and laughed at some memories we forgot. Like when she was almost two and would cry when the doorbell rang because she thought it was a babysitter. I would have to explain to the FedEx guy that she wasn't scared of him, she just didn't want him to babysit her. And how she would say things like "I don't want it....nite nite", "I don't want it...doctor". And how when she was stressed, like there was too much noise, she would scratch all over her little bald head, and it would seem to help.

We love you Claire, our little princess.

soccer anyone?

This is the first organized sport Claire has played in. She was so excited and was thrilled to wear cleats and shin pads. But she did ask me why she had to wear the brown jersey? I tried to convince her it was gold. But she still looked at the green, red and purple ones with envy. At least there wasn't any pink ones or we would have had a problem on our hands. Her first game was today and she surprised us all with her playing. She was always in the middle of the action. She was smiling the whole time and we even heard a few giggles. And yes, there were a few whiffs, but she is just so cute we barely noticed. Her great big brother, Jared, gave her some tips before the game.

carter's suit

Yes, that's Carter looking all too grown up. When Carter turned 12 he also became a deacon at our church. One of his new responsibilities is to help pass the sacrament to our congregation on Sundays. Most boys make this the time to start wearing suits and ties to show respect to this responsibility. And most moms beam with pride and gush at how cute their 12 year old looks. I was no exception. I also had a tear in my eye seeing my baby grow up. I wanted to take pictures of him in his new suit, but also with his dad, in his suit. Don't they look great? I wanted to capture this moment. Father and son. I want to take another photograph when Carter is graduating from high school and see how they look then. Carter looks so small right now, leaning on Allen's chest. How will he measure up in a few years?