Yogurt Zone while CC is at CCD

Very first Girl Scout Meeting

Camden's very first Girl Scout craft. A crown that says "courage," which she earned by standing alone in front of her troop and shooting a basketball.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Years!! So one of my New Years resolutions is to start blogging again. I just looked back and my last one was from July!! Ekkk. I'm also going to try to complete Project 365, taking a picture and posting it everyday. I am positive I will miss days, but I'm going to try to finish the year. So check back frequently!

Happy Birthday Party Day

We are going to Michigan on friday for my family picnic so we wanted to make sure Carter had a day to celebrate and open his presents. So we spent the day and the pool, opened presents, and had cake. Can you tell Carter liked it?

We were singing Happy Birthday, and he was trying to hide.

Didn't want any part of blowing out the candles. Good thing he has the best big sister!A very happy almost 2 year old....CC and Carter

Carter's birthday present. A Thomas the Train Trackmaster Track with two motorized choo choos.

He played for hours....

He absolutely loved the train set! It was a great day, and I can't wait to celebrate all over again next week.

Corpus Christi

Mark and I always say that the only three things we miss about California are friends, family and the beach. Living in Kansas we had to give up the idea of the beach, and settle for the pool. We didn't stay in Temecula long enough to enjoy the beach during summer. And now Texas. Texas has Corpus Christi. It's a two hour drive, two freeways, and you are at the sand. Simple. This was the first time we made the drive, but we know we will be driving back the first chance we get. As much as California will always be home, missing her just got a lot easier!!!

Are you surprised? CC is dancing and Carter found a ball... Pretty much sums them up.

The Boy from New York City

CC had her second recital this friday at Laurie Auditorium at Trinity College in San Antonio. Both CC and I have been anxiously awaiting her recital. As much fun as it is watching through a glass window chasing Carter around for an hour each week, the recitals are my favorite. I love it all. I love the costumes, the makeup, the songs, and how excited CC gets. This year she danced to The Boy From New York City. She has really grown since last recital. She was always one step ahead thinking about what move came next. She did a really good job! She remembered most of the dance, and had the best time backstage with all her friends.

Camden Elizabeth "Boy from New York City"

We were so proud of her. We weren't impressed with the studio this year, and starting in August she will be attending another studio. We have even kicked around the idea of going two days a week, but still aren't sure. As of know she loves it! She wanted to do the recital all over again.

Poe's visit

Last week we had some friends in town from Kansas. The Poe's lived two doors down from us and have a little boy Kellen, who is only a month older than Carter. It was so great to see them! We really miss watching the boys grow up together, and the Poe's have known CC since she was six months old. We had a jam packed week! We went to the Wild Animal Safari and fed zebras, ostriches, and lots of deer.

Carter, CC and Kellen

Then we took the 2. 5 hour drive to Corpus Christi. Mark and I had been wanting to go to CC, but hadn't had the chance. Luckily Mark flipped his schedule around and we all got to go.

After that we spent all day friday at Sea World.

It's crazy that we have been to Sea World so many times, but still have so much left to see. This time we visited the dolphins, and the sharks. Carter loved it. He kept staring into the blue water saying, "BIG FISH!." He now loves sharks!! We were really lucky to be there that day because a baby Beluga Whale was born the night before. The whale weighed 120 pounds! We even got to see her swimming around the tank, following her Mamma. CC's favorite part was the baby whale, and Carter's was the sharks.

We already miss the Poe's but are hoping on making a trip to Kansas really soon!!

Fan Favorite

We entered CC into a Sea World fan favorite photo contest, and she won!! With almost 500 votes! She was featured on 4 billboards around San Antonio. So of course we drove by and took a picture.

It was a digital billboard, and the picture didn't turn out very well with my camera. Here's the original photo:

Thanks everyone who voted! CC thought this was the best. CC says "Mama, I'm famous! Like Taylor Swift!!"

CC's calendar

We are one trip into the busiest summer ever. One more family trip and one solo trip for Mommy!! With CC's recital, a few visitors from Kansas and Cali.... CC was having trouble keeping it all straight. So we made a calendar. Pictures and all. She had such a great time decorating it and drawing all the pictures. She can't wait to wake up tomorrow and cross off another day.

Nashville

Our first summer trip was to Nashville, TN to visit Grandpa Cook and Gigi!! It was a trip of many first. Mark and I had both never been to TN and we were super excited to go. It was such a great trip, it was so beautiful and fun. The only problem was it was a bit HOT. In the 90s, with a heat index well into the 100s. And the humidity, oh the humidity. It was a bit brutal but we were determined to see Nashville and visit the Country Music Fest.

Grandpa Cook and Carter. It was so cute he kept calling him "Cook". Towards the end of the trip it was Papa Cook. But still to this day he looks at this picture, and shouts COOK!!
Gigi and CC awaiting the Taylor Swift Concert
The lake was so beautiful. Grandpa Cook and Gigi live right on Old Hickory Lake. The same lake that Johnny Cash lived on, and Taylor Swift currently lives. We went out on the lake almost everyday. It was both the kids first time on a boat, and the first time swimming in a lake. They loved it. By the end of the trip CC was swimming by herself, and begging to stay longer.

Carter enjoying everything the lake has to offer.... haha
CC girl about to jump in at Mud Island
Old Hickory Lake 2010.... The whole Cook Gang
Mommy and CC getting ready to cruise
Daddy and Carter in their "hooks" Carter actually lost this hat overboard, but Gigi found it!! Good thing it's his favorite hat.
Camden has been obsessed with Bull Riding. She loves to watch it on TV, and pretend to ride Mark as a bull. She even insisted we buy her a cowgirl hat. So when we saw the bull downtown Nashville at the CMA Music Fest she had to ride it. She was such a champ. She lasted the whole time, and you can see the determination on her face. 90 degrees heat and a dress!!

Another really cool thing that will highlight this trip is the 13 hour Taylor Swift Meet and Greet. Although we weren't luck enough to get a bracelet to meet her we got pretty darn close. Camden brought her Taylor doll, and loved every minute of it!! We waited four hours to listen to Taylor sing!!

CC in front of Taylor's dresses she wore in her music videos.

Camden and Taylor Swift

Another one of the kids' favorite things was fishing. They both got to fish off Grandpa Cook's dock, and they both caught their very first fish. Bluegills.

All four of us on the bridge to Downtown Nashville.
It was such a fun trip!! We stayed for six days and felt like we could have stayed another six. We are already talking about going back.