Extreme Makeover: Olivia Edition

I really thought I'd wait a whole lot longer before I cut her locks off. But she was hot. Now she tells me that her neck is cold. :)

Andy Stole Our Hearts

Jay and I told the kids (about 3 years ago) that we would get a dog in 2011. Jay and I have both gone back and forth in wanting a dog, but we never want one at the same time. I thought that I had him convinced to get a Scottie from the Anglin's litter, but he just didn't think that our family was quite ready.

Well, while we were in South Carolina a few weeks ago, our Florida grandma and grandpa took the kids to look at some new puppies that belong to a family in our church. After seeing pictures with our kids and those sweet puppies, we couldn't resist. So, "Andy" (His name may have to change since it is the name of my dad.) will be coming home to us in a couple of weeks! He is so sweet and super laid back. He is a Coton de Tulear breed which is very rare. Take a look at his adorableness.

Texas

I couldn't figure out why I was so homesick for Texas the other day. Well, maybe it's because the longest we have gone without going back to visit is just 6 months. We are at 6 months now. haha

My kids must have felt the bug, too!

I think Granny made this dress for Olivia so that she would never forget that she's really a Texan.

The kids declared this Texas Day and asked me to make them a map that they could color and hang proudly in our living room. I made them one to color and it's now hanging proudly on our refrigerator.

Simple Day

I love the simple days when my kids just play and I watch on.

Speaking of watching on, Olivia thought that her "Princess Baby" and "Froggie" might enjoy front row seats while she did amazing tricks on her slide.

And speaking of amazing tricks, Josiah wanted to know if this was good exercise.

I told them that it was great exercise and enjoyed the fact that they were well entertained.

Speaking of entertained, we have been thoroughly entertained by our pet caterpillar. We keep watching him eat more and more leaves, and get fatter and fatter. (See the hole he ate in the leaf?)

Unfortunately, I think I picked him a bad branch yesterday and he's not looking so hot today. We're pulling for him, though. He sure is fun to watch.

And finally, speaking of fun to watch! This girl is a blast to watch. She never ever quits moving (body or mouth), and says some of the funniest things.

But please excuse her. She's headed out the door to go to work.

Last Day of Busy Bees

I'm sad that Olivia's Busy Bee year has come to an end. And if I would have waited (like Dr. Meeks really wanted me to do), she would be eligible to go again next year. But she misses the date by 2 days. Here are some photos of Liv's last day.

ready to go

Wait! One more kiss from the brothers...

Josiah's kiss

Isaac's kiss

a little wet

one more ponytail swing to say "goodbye"

Olivia with her teachers Ms. Debbie and Mrs. Barbara

And look what we found in the mail when we got home today! A Busy Bee dress from Granny! What a happy little girl.

Disney Again

We still had 2 days left on our Disney passes and I just couldn't stand the fact that we weren't going to use them. (They expire May 25th.) So I talked Jay into letting us go back to Orlando yesterday. I'm so glad we did because I think it was our favorite day of the 3 we were able to go.

The girl

The boys

We are here!

This was an exciting moment for the boys.

Lightning McQueen and Mater!!!

Poor Olivia. We made her go up there.

What?? She'll look back one day and wonder why she was always left out.

This character trades junk. If you take him something, he'll put it in his pouch and pull out something that someone else has given him. I didn't have anything with me but change in my pocket. Of course, he couldn't accept that, but the boys had fun trying.

I asked a guy (foreign) to take our family picture. He was very kind and snapped this photo. I asked him if he could try one more time.

That's better.

I don't know all of the Star Wars characters, but the boys were loving every minute of it.

I finally told the kids that I had had enough of this waiting-in-line-to-take-pictures-with-characters business. So they got this picture...with the bonus of a father/son duo.

A clone trooper...Quick Isaac! Jump up next to him and I'll take your picture! haha

To infinity and beyond!

This was a fun ride. We actually waited in line for 110 MINUTES just to enjoy a 5 minute ride. Crazy I tell ya. But...it was in air conditioning. We brought our stroller in without realizing we were supposed to leave it outside. But because of that mistake, we had all of our snacks with us and a place for Olivia to sit (when she felt like it). The kids were super sweet and didn't complain a single time.

Candyland

We found Olivia's favorite color!

Me and my sweet boys waiting.

My monkeys.

Dancing with Daddy to pass the time...

Why is she looking up, pulling on her ears, and saying "wiggle wiggle"?

Aha. She thought he was pulling his ears.

I asked Olivia if she wanted to get out of her stroller and take a picture with Mr. Potato Head. She thought about it for a minute and then was very excited and determined. So I stood with her (in front of the rail) to take the picture. She kept pointing and saying that she wanted to go up on the stage. I finally figured out that she thought she was going to take a picture with him like the boys did with all of the other characters. She just didn't understand. She was finally ready and then wasn't allowed. Poor girl.

I love this picture because of the teenage girl next to us. Haha We got to stand next to her group for the entire wait. Wowzers!

Ready!

They all had a blast on the ride.

This was Olivia's favorite place. All she wanted to see the whole time was Minnie Mouse. And Minnie had a birthday in here. Bubbles fell from the sky for her to catch, and Tigger and Pooh even made an appearance.

I could have stayed in here the whole day just to watch her dance and listen to her sing "Happy To Chu" to Minnie Mouse.

These characters were so funny. He (or she) was so sweet to call the boys over for a picture.

On the way home, Olivia kept telling us that she was ready to take a picture with Buzz. We tried to explain to her that it was too late. I finally told her that when we got home, we would take her picture with her "Baby Buzz". So as soon as we walked in the door (at 9 pm), she told me she was ready. I love that girl!

What a great way to spend a Friday.

Rainy Day

One of the first times I visited Florida, it rained A LOT. The locals were complaining and I just could not understand their complaints. Growing up in the Texas panhandle sure makes a person appreciate the wet stuff. Well, after nearly two years, I can sort of understand how one might get tired of always walking around with an umbrella. I mean, we don't live in Seattle. Isn't Florida called The Sunshine State?

Well, rain was in the forecast for today and I can tell you that I was super excited for it. It's been pretty "dry" around here lately. I say "dry" because the dirt actually still stays on the ground when the wind blows.

Anyway, my boys enjoyed the rain as much as I did today.

They are probably trying to figure out how to plant their umbrellas in the dirt. They are always trying to plant something, much to Jay's dismay.

A somewhat innocent pose.

This made me laugh. He opened the umbrella and smacked himself in the face. Don't worry, he was just fine. He's just so clumsy--one of those run into the wall as he looks over his shoulder types. I wonder where he gets that?

Another laughing moment. Isaac decided to fold his umbrella up while he was out in the rain. He was drenched by the time he finally got the strap snapped closed.

This is a very long branch that Josiah colored with chalk yesterday. He was so disappointed that the rain washed off his artwork.