Mi Papa es Macho

Chris had taken these tonight and they cracked me up so I had to share. I was working late so this is from daddy-daughter time. Not sure who picked out her pajama outfit... Chris or Caroline? Notice she is accessorizing with a pink camo band aid. Love that smile!

Badgers We Are Loyal

Labor Day weekend started when we somehow ended up at the Badger Pep Rally on Friday afternoon. "I can't believe the cheerleaders don't have any new cheers!," was what I was thinking the whole time. Chris was thinking "it's really hot in this non-ACed gym". And Caroline was thinking "get me out of here". Nonetheless, it was fun and a little nostalgic but we didn't bring enough good luck to the Badgers for a win.





We had a great weekend trying to spend a little bit of time with everyone in the Beebe metroplex. You just can't beat cook-outs and fish fries in Arkansas!

My water baby soaking up the last of summer...


Hanging out with Uncle Mike...

Ah, vacation

I now need a vacation to recover from our vacation! We spent last week in Aruba, a.k.a. paradise...white sand, crystal blue water, and great food. It was all so good (except for the horrible Miami airport) and for losing Ike temporarily (but luckily we didn't know it until he was safe and sound). We had a truly amazing time -- thank you, thank you, thank you Dave!

We had the chance to go three years ago; it was a bittersweet time of change as I would come back and start my new job at HBG. Here we are three years later and this time we come back for Chris to start something new. He started school full-time and is working part-time so it's been a crazy week for us. Especially since we are still basking in the afterglow of great vacation.



Iguanas are everywhere!

Pretending we're locals at Dave's favorite downtown dive.

My view from my daily beachside perch.

Sunset our last night. Chris still has his tan...my lobster pinkness is peeling now!

Vacation pictures to be posted soon. In the meantime be amused by my brother's current adventure.

Happy Day!

Being a January baby I always said I would do my best to not have my kids' birthdays in the winter. Well, so far I've struck out. No pool parties for Caroline. We'll just have to help Carson celebrate his every year in August like we did today in the sun and the water.


Caroline staring at Carson right after he threw sand in her hair.


Luckily, Chris brought another shirt...


Enjoying Carson's birthday present -- a swingset!

18 months, going on 30

Caroline turned 18 months a few weeks ago and today I realized I am more than half-way to 30. I'm not sure which bothers me more!

I have to use this post to give kudos to Chris and Ike...Chris has lost 20 pounds since April and Ike has lost 9 since May! Caroline is in the 22 lb weight class which is the 25 - 50% percentile for her age. Here's a few pics from her recent modeling session...

A $30 upgrade

We've been craving another float trip since canoeing back in June so this weekend we headed back to Hardy. However, we decided we just couldn't return to the Spring River Lodge. Thirty dollars goes a long way in Hardy -- we upgraded from the lodge to Biggers Bed & Breakfast. Great view, great garden, great dinner, and (minus our dorm-room decor) nice country-charmed guest rooms. Oh yeah, and great company with us too!

After he realized that staying in a Bed & Breakfast didn't mean community bathrooms, Willie embraced his African Queen themed room...

The view from the top and also where we watched a girl pee behind a tree from very far up! Sorry!

Caroline had a girls weekend while we were away. Thank you Ma and cousin Milan for coming to visit and play baby dolls!!