Beach and Swim Lessons

Alex and David LOVED the beach - sand, water, and all!!!
The sand was beautiful and white as ever. The only oil we saw was caked into some sand that was stuck in a large shell I found in the water. So glad we went and didn't let the media scare us away!

Cousin Anna Cate

David loved watching and pointing out all the birds that flew so close to us. He was mesmerized and so cute about it.



You can't tell very well here, but we found a big hole that someone had dug out in the sand. The kids loved playing in it. It worked as a great man made play pen to contain David as he was relentlessly trying to walk into the water keeping us very busy. However, he learned quickly how to crawl out.



Aunt Robin and cousin Amber came to stay with us for one night to play at the beach, too. Alex and Amber had a blast!

We built sandcastles and then decorated them with shells we found. The big shell on the top of one of the castles is the biggest shell I have ever found in all my years of going to the beach. We think that is a result of the potential of oil keeping so many people away. The normal early risers that walk the beach and collect them all were not there. The beach is normally pretty crowded, but it was not crowded at all this year.



We loved the zero entry pool at our condo!!!

David gave us a workout though while chasing him around.



Yes, my daredevil hung with all the big kids and rode that slide in the background over and over and learned how to make herself go faster. ha!



Much needed, wonderful family vacation!!!

Taking pics with my new iPhone 4. I feel like a kid in a candy store with this phone. It is awesome! I have sure been missing out all these years without a smart phone.

Alex adores 7 yr old cousin Hunter and he is so good with her.

The largest Ferris Wheel in the Southeast at The Wharf shopping area.
And yes, my kiddos loved it!



Alex, Mimi and Anna Cate

Grandaddy and David have a special bond. Oh so sweet!

Cousins playing at a playground in the sand

Matching Cousins

While cooking after our return home, I heard some rumbling around and found David behind me perched in a pantry hole.

David also managed to climb in this hole after watching sister do it over and over. They are so funny!!!

Alex took her first swim lessons in July in which she learned how to kick, put face in water and swim and dog paddle. David had introductory time in which he was exposed to having his face under water, kicking, floating on back, learning to keep head up with gear on, etc... They both are way too comfortable in the water so we will have to be on guard!!! Overall, they learned to be safe this go around. Alex knows the concept of swimming, but would struggle if left alone with her gear off. She did ok with the instructor, but she needs lots of practice. As soon as I figure out how to post videos from my new phone, I will post some from their last day at swim class.

Alex practicing dog paddling and yes, David was sad the majority of the time if mommy wasn't with him :(

Is it really July 5th?

I cannot believe how fast the weeks are going by. Since I last posted, so much has occurred. The biggest event has been our move to MS. Yes, we have moved. That seems crazy! We are in the process of settling in and eliminating boxes. Just when I think we have made a huge dent, another area of boxes are staring at us. However, it is coming along though. Alex and David are adjusting well and sleeping great in our new house which makes me smile. However, Alex (and us) talk about Little Rock every day and our friends. Today, we got real sad when Alex said she wanted to see her friend, Reagan. I told her we could Skype her. She proceeded to tell me in almost tears that she just wanted to play with her :( Mommy misses our friends so much as well!!!

Since life has been so crazy busy the last few weeks, I have hardly any pics of us in MS, but I have some backlog to post from our last days in LR.



We celebrated Chris' 33rd birthday with Kekoa and Gracie's 2nd birthday. Fun times with friends!



Becky braiding Alex's hair. Becky beautified all the girls with her talented braids at all the latest get togethers. Alex loved her braids and begged me to french braid it. My friend Layla taught me how one afternoon. ha! My fingers were so twisted. I need lots of practice. I did french braid her hair one day. It was so pathetic, but I worked so hard at it that I kept it in until it fell apart by lunch time. ha!



This is one of my favorite pics right now. Alex was so excited about her end of the year dance recital. She still talks about it and dances. Her class did one tap dance in Robinson Auditorium downtown. If we find our video camera software, we can post her dance to Shake Shake Shake (with maracas in hand!!!). So cute!

Some of the girls backstage at dress rehearsal the day before the recital. At first, I thought dress rehearsal was going to be a waste of time for her age. However, I learned it was the best thing ever to figure all this out since it was our first time!



Alex and Reagan at dance rehearsal. Oh, how Alex loves Reagan. She misses her so much!!!



Grandmother came to cheer on Alex....



as well as Grandaddy, Mimi, Hunter (yawning) and Aunt Cathy. Alex loved watching the other dancers after her dance.



Alex had her first haircut last month at the precious Pigtails and Crewcuts in LR. Alex did so well, she got her lollipop early. She was a bit nervous about the haircut at first, but enjoyed it so much that she asked could she get her haircut again everyday for about a week afterwards.



love the do!





"You ain't my Daddy."
I told the workers that Daddy had given David 2 haircuts already. One worker implied it needed straightening up, so David got a mini cut.



Happily doing his chores



My sweet friend, Elizabeth, had baby #3 just before we moved away. We were to thankful we got to meet little Garrett!



Alex yelled for me to come find her. I found her having a ball and chilling out in my new XL dryer. I love my new XL washer and dryer!!!





Alex and David having fun in the boxes as we unpack...



...until sister traps David in.



July 4th with family in Hattiesburg, MS



Alex and cousin Anna Cate played so well together...better than ever. I think it was because Alex was not bullying her this time! They were very sweet!

Chris' Residency Graduation

After 4 years of undergrad, 1 year postgrad in Australia, 4 years of medical school, and 5 years of residency, Chris has reached the end of the road in his medical training. This has been a long journey (14 years!!!) and we are so glad to celebrate the end of this chapter.
The Otolaryngology department at UAMS did a great job to send off the 3 chiefs well. A nice dinner was provided during the program of awards, "roasting" the chiefs presentations, skits, and presentation of diplomas, gifts and the special chair (below). He completed his residency in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
This was a very special evening in which we were so proud, thankful and excited for Chris as he has worked so hard to get to this point. Although sleep deprived most of residency, he has remained focused and dedicated. We are so proud of Chris!!! Way to go, baby!

A replica of their diploma was presented to each chief.
They will receive the real one once all their check out procedure is completed next week.

The chiefs were presented with a very nice engraved chair as well.
The fam (Craig, Cathy, Mrs. Lee and Mr. Lee, and my mom) came to celebrate.

Chiefs with all the residents, some alumni and most of the faculty

I'm so proud of my hubby!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Chris, Carrie and Larry!!!

Later this summer, Chris will start as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology and Communicative Sciences at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. He will be practicing medicine in the field of Otolaryngology with UMC at the Grants Ferry Clinic located on Lakeland Drive and performing surgery at UMC.

Going Away Cookout

Wow! This group of friends have journeyed through tons together including the birth of 15 kids now and 1 preggo again. We will so miss everyone and hope some come visit us in MS. We hope to get back to LR at least once a year to visit.

David's 1st Birthday Monkey Style

Happy 1st Birthday
Little Monkey, Sweetie Pie, Sugar Plum, Sweet Pea, Love Bucket, Love Bug, Lil Man, etc!!!

I can't believe David turned one on May 26! Time is flying by. I love the stages of our children right now (David 1 and Alex 2.5) and love them close together. David's first few months were rough, but it has become so much fun and so much easier.

At one, David
* says mama, da da, nana for banana, hey, all done, mo for more, dog, sisa (only once), nack for snack, buh for ball, and tons of other rambles (grandmother claims she heard him say "i wanna see that" not sure about that one :)
* has 10 teeth!!!!!!!!
* can walk, but won't do it full time yet. has taken up to 15-20 steps.
* officially weaned today...hopefully :)
* will get measurement stats next week



As you can see, David loves monkeys. So, he had a monkey themed first birthday party. It was so much fun planning and preparing and it turned out so cute!

My 3rd homemade cake :)



My first attempt at face cupcakes
These were so much more fun to make than the monkey cake. I found these cute faces in my Hello Cupcake book. The recipe called for purple chocolate covered sunflower seeds for the nose. Well, I thought hard and looked around for a substitute as I was going to have to order the seeds. I could not find anything that shape so I ordered the seeds online. I only needed about 40-50, but had to buy a whole pound of them. They ended up tasting so good that we served them at the party and snacked on them for days.



Simple decor using bananas and David's monkeys.







David loves balloons especially these which had Curious George's face on them.



David's blank look as people sang "Happy Birthday" to him





Blowing out candle on 1st birthday cake



Sweet friends Elizabeth and Stacie

Wendy and Stacie's lil Caleb



Some Moms N More friends celebrate with us



The studdly men: Graeme, Chris, Jason and Patrick (don't know where Clay was)



Samantha, Big Sis Alex and Reagan



Birthday dinner afterwards: pizza and a monkey's fav - bananas!

11th Anniversary

Chris and I celebrated 11 years of marriage together on May 22. Wow! We have been through a lot these past 11 years - growing up together in a since, me finishing college, living in Brisbane, Australia along with 3 different cities in the US so far, traveling tons, med school, seminary, residency, various ministry jobs, births of our precious children, etc... The journey has been fun, yet intense the last several years. We are excited to start a new chapter after residency this summer!

We have no pics from our awesome 11th anniversary date night (kid free thanks to Wendy!!!). So, enjoy some of these honeymoon pics in Cozumel from 11 years ago. Whoa!



We look so young!

Cozumel, Mexico

This is the only beach shot y'all get...the others show too much skin. ha!