Happy Birthday Carter!

Carter is Eleven Years Old today!

Carter is such a fun guy to have around. He is funny, empathetic, kind, happy, easy going, energetic, smart, enthusiastic, helpful, and social. What can I say, he's a like able guy! :) He loves to be around people and always has a friend or two over. We always get compliments about Carter from those who know him. He is a fantastic kid and we love him!!! He works hard at everything he does. He's a "neat freak" and extremely organized for his age. Some of his favorite things are trucks, motorcycles, cars (do you see a pattern here), hamburgers, playing with friends, playing air soft, riding his bike, playing basketball and football, the Longhorns, Grandpa, and riding in his dad's truck. He keeps us laughing and answering lots of obvious questions!! :) He is in the 5th grade. He is still taking piano lessons, is in the running club at school, a boyscout, and wants to play basketball and tackle football this year. We are so proud of him and thankful to have him in our family!

Last night Dave's sister and her kids came down for dinner, cake, and ice cream. Tonight is his "friend" party...pictures of that to come soon!

~Katrina, Seth, & Matthew~

Carter really wanted a basketball hoop for the driveway. It was too awkward to wrap and bring into the house so we "hid" it in Dave's truck. We blind folded him and led him to the garage. He was thrilled!

Happy Birthday Buddy!

We Love You!!!

Swine Flu

Monday morning Lauren woke up with a fever and cough. I took her to the doctor and she tested positive for the Swine Flu. They put her on Tamiflu and she is feeling much better...in fact, she was well enough to go back to school today. Evidently, it's a mild but highly contagious flu virus. Really, the only side effect is this...

I don't think it's going to be a problem though, do you? :)

Face Painting

Lauren got home from her sleep over and we hardly recognized her! :)

Slumber Party

Taylor had a slumber party last night! She invited 7 girls but one got the flu and wasn't able to come and one left around 10:00 p.m. So, we had a total of 6 girls sleeping over. Laruen & Carter both slept over at their friend's house which really helped (Thanks Shannon & Susan...I owe you!) The girls were up until 4:00 a.m. so we are all a little tired today! (Dave and I are anyway...and we were only up until 2:00 a.m.) When we got up this morning at 8:30 a.m. we had to wake them all up so they would have time to eat before their parents came to get them. Being that I am NOT a big sleep over fan, it went really well.

They ate pizza...

attacked a pinata...

had cake and ice cream...
opened presents...
decorated t-shirts...
and watched 3 movies!

She's a Teenager!

Yep, it's true, Taylor is officially a teen! I can't believe it! She is such a great kid and we are so lucky to get to raise her. She is smart, pretty, unique, creative, conscientious, trustworthy, fun, kind, talented, and a great big sister! She is such a great help and is turning into a young lady right before our eyes. Some of her favorite things include drawing, running, hanging out with friends, playing electronics, playing the piano, jumping on the trampoline, popcorn, ice cream, watching movies, and anything Anime (Japanese animation). She is successfully running her own pet care business and has recently started babysitting...it turns out she's quite the little saver as well! She's still in band (she plays the oboe), taking piano lessons, and is on the Cross Country team at her school. We are so proud of the young lady she is becoming and so grateful that she's a part of our family. How did we get so lucky?

Taylor really wanted a real kitten for her birthday but I vetoed that! :) Instead, she got my kind of kitty...

...although, she did get a real iPod Touch! :)

Happy Birthday Taylor!

We love you!!!

Birthday Bash

Dave's Grandma recently turned 80, his Grandpa turned 70, and his mom turned 60. To celebrate, his family put together a combined birthday party at his Aunt Marsha's house in Fort Worth. Dave's mom and brother, Sam, flew in from Oregon and his Uncle flew in from California. So, last weekend we loaded up our family and headed to Fort Worth to the party. His Grandpa was in the hospital (he is fighting Leukemia) so we didn't get to see him. Dave has several Aunts, Uncles, and cousins that live in Fort Worth who also attended. His sister, Katrina, also drove up for the party (she lives about an hour from us). Needless to say, it was a full house and we enjoyed seeing everyone! Thanks Aunt Marsha!

~ Grandma Johnson with Great Grand kids~

~Nancy (Dave's mom) & Katrina (Dave's sister)

~Katrina, Dave, & Sam~

~Halli, baby Aaron (Dave's cousin's baby~one of the cutest babies I've ever seen), & Grandma Johnson~

~Grandma Johnson & Nancy~

~Sam, Nancy, Katrina, & Dave~

Aunt Marsha & Uncle Mike have a pool in their backyard. The kids all swam even though it was pouring rain!

Dave's brother, Sam, came home with us to visit for a few days. We really enjoyed having him here. We took him to the State Capitol building, to the Congress Avenue Bridge (home to the largest urban bat colony in North America), to some of our favorite restaurants, and 6th street. It was fun to have him here!

Great Wolf Lodge

Over Labor Day weekend we went to the Great Wolf Lodge, in Grapevine Texas, with our good friends, the Groppe's. The resort has an indoor water park and small outdoor water park. It was a hit...everyone loved it!

~Halli & Laurie~

~Lauren, Katelyn, Zach~

~Dave, Carter, Taylor, Laurie, Gary, Zach~

Silly Girls...

~Lauren & Katelyn~

Ready to go Home...

We'd definitely recommend it! I think there are several around the country. Here's the link if you want to check it out http://www.greatwolflodge.com

"Brock" Obama

~ Justin, Sam, Brock, Carter~

Carter and his friends love playing air soft. The phone rings off the hook after school as they all decide who's house they're headed to. It's usually our house and generally there are 4-7 boys running around playing. One of his friends name is Brock. He lives in a white house around the corner in a nearby cul-de-sac. Their game went like this... Brock was "Brock Obama" and he was trying to get to the "White House" before they got him. He was the only one in the game without an air soft gun. Although they did allow his "security guard" to have an air soft gun! Funny boys!

Puppy Love