Dear Santa!

Robert has been really starting to click with the whole Christmas and Santa thing this year. He has had the usual questions on the process and how it works. Bob has been answering question after question about Santa. I am so glad that he is handling the Q & A sessions, as I am not very good at thinking on my feet.

Robert was a little deflated that he couldn't write a letter to Santa (as he cannot write yet)? He also kept asking us what we asked Santa for when we were little. It seems that Robert was unsure of what he could and couldn't ask for! It was so cute.

We decided to grab all the newspaper adds out of the Sunday paper. We cut out all the pictures of things that Alastair and Robert wanted for Christmas and glued them down to construction paper. This was our letter to Santa.

We have to keep them safe so that we can put them by the cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. I told Robert that Santa would read the letter when he stopped by and would leave them something from their list.

Took some pictures of the process. Hope you Enjoy!
Juanita

'Tis the season!!!

We took the boys to a Seaworld last night. They were giving a VIP Sneak Peak of their Christmas Holiday Shows. I was a little nervous about going, as nothing was going right:
1. Bob was actually scheduled to work overnight that night. Luckily, he found someone to work his shift so that we could all go.
2. The day of the event, it rained buckets all day. Yes, this is an outdoor event. Seaworld assured us that they had moved the event indoors as much as they could.

We drove to the event in pouring rain and heavy traffic. When we arrived, the huge ominous black cloud hovering over my head started to drift away. As soon as we walked up, a WONDERFUL Seaworld employee was handing out Shamu ponchos for the rain. Alastair couldn't have cared if it was raining or not. He was now dressed up as a SHAMU!!!!! We walked to the reception and dined with Shamu, Dolly (the dolphin), and Santa on many a delicious appetizer and hot chocolate. YUMMY!!!

We left the reception, and on the way to our first show, we were all handed a rolled up T-shirt with an ornament inside. The biggest hit was the SHAMU Santa hat we were all given.

After passing the HUGE Christmas tree, we got to go see a 4-D presentation of Polar Express! It was so awesome. The boys loved it. It included the 30 minute version of the movie and even snow floating down from the ceiling.

After this movie, we got to see "Sesame Street Christmas Show" WOW, is all I can say.
The evening ended with a Holiday Presentation from Shamu. This was wonderful. The show was done to the music of a quartet singing Christmas carols.

Needless to say, the evening that started out so dismal, faded into a wonderful experience as soon as we walked into the gates.
I have added a few pictures for you. Enjoy.

November

It has been a busy month for us so far. Robert, Alastair and I walked the 5 mile Children's Miracle Network Torch Relay on the 14th. I was so proud of my team at work. As a team we raised $1200 for Childrens Miracle Network!!!! Alastair was in his stroller and Robert jogged/walked next to me the ENTIRE way. I was so impressed that Robert did all 5 miles on his own two feet. The torch relay took us down the new section of the Riverwalk. It was beautiful! Robert and Alastair spent most of the 5 mile walk looking into the water for frogs. They saw many lilly pads, but no frogs.

On Sunday, we celebrated Alastair's 3rd Birthday. We did it in true Transformers style. We had granny, aunty and cousins come over as well as our next door neighbors. We had a great time. Alastair really has mastered tearing into those presents. He will have no trouble at Christmas.

October!

Well it has been a great October, so far. My brother came down last weekend and we ended up going to Seaworld unexpectedly and very last minute. We had only a few hours there, but had so much fun. It is always precious when we can get the cousins together to play and enjoy eachothers company.

Robert enjoyed the shows so much more this year as his attention span is getting longer. Alastair, surprisingly enough, REALLY enjoyed Seaworld. Much more in fact than his brother did at that age.

Before this trip to Seaworld, I thought at the kids needed 2-3 more years before Disney, but after this trip to Seaworld, I think they might be ready for their first trip.

I took a few pictures of them at seaworld, playing with their cousins. There are some pictures also of Robert and Alastair playing around. Hope you all enjoy.

We are going to "Trunk or Treat" at our church tomorrow. More pictures to come.

I will post halloween pictures next weekend.
Love Juanita

August

Well it has been a hot summer. I havent felt much like taking pictures lately and am starting to feel guilty about it. So here is our August update.

Robert started riding his first bicycle yesterday. It has training wheels and Daddy has to push him around as he hasnt quite realized the power he need to peddle, but he is getting it. Alastair, as he has to be just like his brother, is riding a little version of a go cart. Very cute to watch. Alastair of course has no idea how to peddle so there is a handle on the back of the go cart for Mommy and Daddy to push. So much fun for Mommy and Daddy in AUGUST.

Granny bought the boys some "plastic balloon" stuff. I remember playing with it when I was young. I LOVED it. Except ours was pink. We went outside and played making balloons out of the stuff. Loads of fun!!!

Boys are doing well. We just switched their Pediatrician and we really love the new doctor. She is great.

Bob is getting ready to start school again. Taking Economics and Accounting. I actually got excited to hear about his accounting class. How much of a nerd am I.

Its about time to hear from the Medical Examiner on Dad's Toxicology report. Mom went down to fill out the request for a copy of the autopsy. So we just have to wait for it to arrive in the mail now. Not sure when it is coming, but should be anywhere from today to 3 weeks. So no real way to know.

We are going to the beach on Monday and Tuesday this next week and cant wait. We havent told the boys yet, its a surprise. Funny thing is, I dont know that the boys would be more excited then their dad. Bob may have the car packed by Tomorrow. He is like a kid when it comes to the beach. I didnt ever expect that he would enjoy it that much. We have lived here 7 years and have only been to the beach twice. I think part of the reason that Bob loves going to the beach so much is that he never expected the boys to LOVE the beach,waves and salt water as much as they do. He loves to see their enjoyment.

So ready to go to Arizona for our Holiday Vacation in December. I know it is still months away, but I cant wait. We havent seen our family in AZ since March I think, and we miss them so much.
So that is my update for now. Please enjoy the pictures.

June 09

June has been a tough month for us so far. Dad passed away unexpectedly on June 2nd. As you can imagine the following week has been extremely hard on the entire family. Mom is heading back to Houston with Warren to spend a week with him. Warren is being promoted to Leuitenant-low grade or first grade so Mom wants to be there to be a part of that ceremony. Bob, myelf and the boys are taking a much needed break and heading to the coast for a little family time.

Day 1: We arrived in Corpus Christi and checked into our hotel and then headed straight for the Port Aransas beach. We took the ferry onto the island, which the boys loved. We spent the next 4 or so hours playing in the ocean. Robert had a blast and took right to the waves, shouting "I will not be pushed back, Onward" into the waves.

Alastair took a little more adjusting to the bigger waves as he was more afraid of where the sharks were. So we played more in the shallow water.

I know Poppie would have loved to have seen their first experience on the beach and in the ocean. He would have loved to hear Robert's squeals of laughter and excitement. I know that somewhere Poppie was watching us and enjoying the salt air as well. We miss you so much Poppie.

Day 2:
We went to the Texas State Aquarium today. The boys had fun touching stingrays, seeing otters, dolphins, birds, ect. We had lunch outside looking over the bay. It was a beautiful day.

On to Day 3

Update

Well, I know its been a while. I have been really bad this year of uploading and posting news and pictures.

So, lets see:
Robert has lived to see 4 years old!!! So has Dad!!! HEHE

We just got back from a wonderful vacation to see the Grandparents in Arizona. We went for 10 days. All too short as always.

I have included a BUNCH of pictures of our new playground we bought the boys, Robert's 4th birthday, and our vacation to Arizona.

We hope you enjoy them.
Love Juanita