Emilee!!

Emilee has been keeping busy with cheerleading for Upward, a Christian sports organization, and singing with her school choir. She's been enjoying both very much, with singing just barely edging out cheerleading as her favorite. Her choir had two Christmas performances this month, with a hilarious rendition of Deck the Halls being the crowd favorite.



(Em is in the front row in the green shirt)

Emilee just before her choir Christmas performance.


Taking a horse-drawn carriage ride at our local college's Christmas kickoff celebration.


Emilee having a chat with Santa for the sake of her brothers.


Cute pose with Daddy!

Thanksgiving in CA -- pt 2

Sunday we were able to make it to the morning service at our old church. It was wonderful to visit there with friends and catch up with our pastor. Then we had lunch with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Quinn, and her new baby and husband. We've gone from preschool friends to know having known each other for 25+ years...it was wonderful to have our two families together! (Darnit, we forgot to get a picture!)

Then we headed to the beach. We had a fun afternoon sightseeing and playing tourist around our favorite coastal town. We fed the seals, walked along the piers and played in the sand and water.
Trev goofin' around on the Embarcadero.
Can't miss feeding the seals!

Em having fun at the beach!
Carter's first time puttng his toes in the Pacific Ocean


We enjoyed a yummy dinner of authentic clam chowder with my brother and he took us out for a tour of his new boat. We had an amazing day! It's silly how being land locked in Oklahoma has soooo made us appreciate the Pacific Coast!!

The rest of our vacation was spent enjoying time with my parents and our friends. We took the big monkeys to see a movie, Joshua cooked us some yummy dinners, and Mom and Dad made a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner complete with all of the trimmings. All in all a great vacation!

We flew home on a direct 3 hour flight on Friday (sigh, I missed Black Friday shopping). Carter again did amazing on that flight too, napping and behaving wonderfully...guess I stressed over nothing lol.

And first thing was first...the very next day Joshua dug all of the Christmas stuff out of the attic so we could start decorating. Stay tuned...

Thanksgiving in CA--pt 1

Joshua and I headed back to CA...and took the monkeys with us...to spend the holiday with my parents and our friends, Art and LaVerne. Originally, the trip was to mostly be a Disneyland vacation, but since Trev broke his arm, we regrouped to a more low key holiday. One of the most exciting parts of the trip was that it was Carter's first time on an airplane. Personally, I was petrified about taking our crazy two year old on a flight where he had to be confined and obedient for a significant amount of time. Joshua of course in true fashion, was absolutely sure he'd be a pillar of awesome behavior!

We arrived at the airport on Saturday for our flight and all three monkeys were very excited. Carter did great going through security, and even answered the TSA agent when he was asked what his name was (I almost fell over as he almost never talks to strangers, especially on cue!). Trevor had to stand for a special search due to his arm being in a cast and he was very brave through that too! When we got to the gate, Joshua was called up to the desk and like usually happens to him when he travels, they wanted to upgrade him to First Class (for free!) because the flight was full. Super husband that he is, he asked if they'd put me up there, and he chose to stay with Em, Trev and Carter in the back of the plane. Carter did great on the flight...I never once heard him screaming in the back like I feared he would lol. We had a plane change in Denver and just as we were about to board the second flight, Joshua once again worked his "I am a seasoned flier" magic...and this time got ALL of us upgraded to First Class FOR FREE! And this upgrade was just spectacular. "How cool" First Class is depends on the size of the plane and the length of the flight. The bigger the plane and the longer the flight, the better. Well, this was a HUGE plane and a 2+ hr flight...so we got the royal treatment!! Drinks served in glass cups, warm nuts in china dishes, a choice of full lunch served on a tray placed over a tablecloth (at a time where in the back of the plane they don't even hand out tiny bags of peanuts anymore), hot washcloths folded in cute shapes provided so you can "wash up" after your long travels, being referred to by name...it goes on and on! Needless to say, we had a blast and it was a super cool experience to share with our kiddos. Carter slept almost all of the way (thank goodness as it was past naptime!) and Emilee and Trevor showed super manners and behavior. Toward the end of the flight the attendants shared that they kinda freaked out when they saw three children on the manifest in Frist Class, thinking that it would be the flight from hell...and they were VERY impressed by how our monkeys behaved the whole flight!


Shuttle bus on the way to the aiport


Carter's carseat rigged to the top of a rollaboard briefcase...viola...a pint sized seat with wheels!

Is that OUR AIRPLANE, Daddy?!

Carter's first flight!

The monkeys enjoying one of Daddy's frequent flier perks...admission to the elusive Red Carpet Room (bet most of you didn't even know this secret oasis hidden in the airport even existed, eh?!).

The best way to enjoy First Class...

Trev enjoying his First Class lunch

Joshua and I opted for the chicken salad

Gotta get the captain's autograph of course!

Hey girl, bring it in easy, OK?! You get extra points for a soft landing!

CA trip--NASCAR (pt. 3)

The last leg of our quickie CA trip was to the Nascar race on Sunday. Joshua's company sponsors a car and has a dedicated motorcoach that travels the circuit to all the races and we were invited to be VIP guests and watch the race. Early in the day we got to tour the pits, stand inches from the cars and take pics as they were lined up ready to race and then we hung out at the coach where we were waited on hand and foot by a staff dedicated to just us. It was pretty awesome. They fed us amazing catered food, served drinks and yummy snacks (including these to-die-for cupcakes that aparently were featured on Oprah). The race was pretty cool too. One thing I have to say about it...it was LOUD...louder than either of us expected! And it was tricky to see the whole track from where the coach was parked...so funny as it may seem, we watched a good portion of the race on one of the three huge flatscreens the coach was equipped with. Every so often we'd pop up to the roof of the coach and watch the cars go 'round for a bit. And we even lucked out and got to see a pretty decent crash (isn't that really why anyone watches Nascar?! lol). I now have a totally new appreciation for the movie Cars...it is soooo like you see on the movie and it was quite exciting to experience that close up!
On our way to the pit tour...had to snap a pic of the 24 big truck for Trev...his fav!

The cars getting inspected before the race...they all have to fit into that mold to be approved.
The rear view of the cars' big trucks lined up outside the pits.
Me posing next to the M&M big truck (for my dad)...and no, I didn't cross my arms on purpose lol.
The Crown Royal truck for Joshua
Pit row...notice the flags hanging over each "spot"...so the drivers know exactly where to pull in for tire changes etc.
The cars getting lined up in starting order.
Home Depot car on it's way to it's position...another of our family's favorites.
Joshua and I posing in front of 24 for Trev.
The crowds of people filling the stands before the race.
Part of opening ceremonies...a parachuter with a flag trailing beneath him...I'd never seen anything like that before!
The view from the top of our motorcoach, over the sea of other crazy Nascar circuit groupies' coaches.
The coach we hung out at all day...you can see the rooftop viewing area (inside there was the coolest staircase you went up to access the roof).
The crash...ahh Nascar lol!

Blue Cast

Don't ask me exactly what this patriotic buffalo is doing as the parking lot decoration of Trevor's orthopedic surgeon's office...but it made for an interesting backdrop for him to show off his new cast!

Dr reports that the "set" looks great and Trev picked out blue for the cast that he'll have for the next three weeks. He didn't go with the green/red we talked about, as he'll be getting another cast after this one, and that cast will bring us right up to Christmas so it seemed more fitting to save the green/red for later.

CA trip (pt. 2)

Saturday we were headed to Joshua's cousin's wedding. On the way, we stopped in and saw the friends who bought our home from us when we left CA, and we popped in on another family that Josh has been friends with since middle school. It was really nice to get a quick visit in with them!

The wedding was beautiful. We arrived a couple of hours before the wedding and got to spend some time with Joshua's family whom we miss very much. It was crazy to see the bride as "all grown up" as I tend to remember her as the adorable 5 year old in the bright pink dress at my wedding. It was wonderful to meet her new groom and welcome him to the family. And Joshua was also surprised and honored to be asked by his other cousin (the bride's brother) to be a groomsman in his upcoming spring wedding. Here are a few pics...


Joshua and his cousin (bride's brother)


Joshua and I goofin' off in the gazebo before the ceremony (notice his leg!)


Joshua and his grandmother and his cousin


The bride and the groom!

Seriously, Trev?!

Friday night we had a party at church and took these hilarious photo booth pics...



...got home and started getting the monkeys ready for bed. Carter and I were in the bathroom when I heard "CRACK" and Trevor screamed out in a panic for me. I ran and met him in the kitchen---and.then.I.saw.it. For the third time, Trevor has broken his arm. Really...I want to say "SERIOUSLY, Trev?!" and then I want to hug the poor monkey cuz it just stinks for him. We spent several hours in the ER and got his arm set in a temporary cast. Can I also just say here, thank God that Joshua was home. By what has to be divine intervention, he is always home for "the big stuff" and I'm really glad that he was here again. They reduced Trev's break in the ER with just tylenol with codeine and local anesthetic injections. THAT SUCKED so bad for him, and he was SO BRAVE (the PAs and nurses kept telling him over and over how he was sooo much tougher than most MEN that they treat with broken bones)...and luckily Joshua was here and loves that medical type stuff so he was able to hold Trevor through it while I rubbed his leg and talked to him but turned my head.

Here's the pic of his initial xray and one of his hand in the chinese handcuff contraption (that they used to reduce the fracture and relax the muscles before they put the temporary cast on).


Trevor is doing ok. We are right back in the familiar swing of life with a broken arm. Luckily this time it's his left, so he's able to do his schoolwork and feed himself. We went shopping for clothes at the thrift store that we can cut up to fit his cast, and Josh rebuilt his loft bed into a lower bunk so he doesn't have a ladder to climb with a cast. Tomorrow he's going to give a shot at going to school, and I'll get on the phone with the pediatric orthopedic surgeon to get an appointment to get his permanent cast put on. We have to get it done by Friday as we leave on vacation to CA Saturday morning. Unfortunately we had to cancel the Disneyland portion of our trip due to all of this, but we are hoping to try and go back in the spring.

I'll be back in a few days with pics of his cast...he's hoping they have red and green for a Christmas theme!