Disney Wonder Cruise Part 3

This concludes our pictures from our cruise. We had such an amazing time and would definitely recommend this trip to everyone! We made so many great memories that will last our lifetime (hopefully!).

Disney Wonder Cruise Part 2 (Castaway Cay)

This was our first stop on our cruise. We loved it here! Too bad we couldn't stay for a few more days! They even have an adult only beach so of course Jeff and I had to check it out. We were able to check Claire into the kid zone on the island and spend about an hour at the adult only beach while she played in the kid zone...it was a win-win for all of us! Part 3 will be coming another day so stay tuned!

Disney Wonder Cruise Part 1

We had such an amazing time on our 7 night cruise with the Disney Wonder. We went to Castaway Cay, Nassau, and Key West. Unfortunately we had some rough waters the first two days and Jeff ended up spending most of that time in bed. By day 3 he was feeling better and was able to go out and about with Claire and I. The entire experience was amazing, from the food to the shows to the port visits. Claire loved the Oceaneer Club where she could be checked in for special activities. She got to go to Mousketeer training with Mickey Mouse, learn how to be a rescue ranger with Chip and Dale, and go on a magic carpet ride with Aladdin. At the show "The Golden Mickeys", Claire was one of 6 children chosen to help Snow White by being one of the dwarfs! She did a great job and was pretty proud she got chosen! I hope you enjoy the video of our trip! The second half of our pictures will come as soon as I am able to get them put together!

Pancreatic cancer walk

We took on the rain and went downtown yesterday for the Pancreatic Cancer 5K walk. It is a hard day for us because it brings back so many memories of Dad and his battle with this nasty disease. However, it also is a wonderful way to honor his fight and share his story with those who are going through a similar journey. Thank you to everyone who donated to support this walk and we can only pray that a cure will be found soon.

 I remember talking with Dad before he died and he said that he will toss us pennies from Heaven. Well, I have to believe this because about 1/4 of the way into our walk, I found this shiny penny laying on the path. Can it be mere coincidence?  I choose to believe it is a sign from Dad. Rest in Peace Daddy. We miss you every single day.

Claire's 5 picture cool fun

Seriously  Mom, hit  the ball already!

 Here comes the characters!

 Swan...smile for the camera!

 It is very wavy out here. I may sleep here because it is very comfy!

 I am finally on stage but Dopey isn't looking!

 I am taking a picture with Donald but he is hugging me too tight and I 

can barely breathe! Oh Donald you're crazy!

A beautiful day at the zoo

 It was an absolutely gorgeous day today so we decided to head to the zoo, along with about 3/4 of Houston! Despite it being busy, we had a great day learning about all of the animals.

As with every trip to the zoo, Claire has to get her picture taken with any animal statue we come across. We have more pictures of her with fake animals than with the real thing!

Today Claire was determined to be the tour guide. She was concentrating so hard on finding the carousel and after much planning...

 she got us to one of her favorite spots at the zoo!

Finally, a picture with real animals!

 All aboard! Where Claire turns when her legs start to get tired from all the walking. We did put in almost 9000 steps in the few hours we were at the zoo so I guess I can understand the need for a piggyback ride now and then!

 I love this picture! You can see just how focused Claire is on getting us to the right place!

 Sometimes adults just have to act like kids! We are so thankful for another beautiful day!

Happy Halloween!

A few weeks ago Claire came home from school and said she wanted to be a chicken for Halloween. I was a bit surprised but thought okay and dove into Pinterest to get some ideas for a chicken costume. Come to find out, she is learning about the life cycle of a chicken in science class and they have watched chickens hatch this past week! At least we know she is paying attention in class!

She was the only chicken out trick-or-treating, but I think she was a pretty darn cute chicken!

 Every year we make sure to stop by to see Me-Maw and Pa-Paw before we go out for candy. This year Me-Maw gave mandarin oranges because she knows Claire loves fruit! I loved the idea and Claire couldn't wait to eat them up! Me-Maw also threw in a chocolate chip cookie which Claire hasn't even asked for!

 Can't make it a normal family picture...our little chicken just had to give us bunny ears!

 Claire, Elliot, and Lillian all ready to get started!

 Claire, Addisyn, and Kennedy (friends from school)

 Claire and Addisyn having a great time together! They came home with their buckets overflowing with candy! Good thing we got home in time to give some of it away!

Character parade at school

This past Friday, Claire's elementary school did a character parade. Kids could come dressed up but had to be dressed as a character from a kids book. Claire chose to go as Bad Kitty!

She pulls it off well, don't you think?!

Making memories with good friends!

Our good friends from Minnesota, Maureen and Lori, came to visit for 4 days. We spent most of our time outside visiting, playing bean bag toss, and getting lessons on how to play the card game "Golf" from Claire!

 Claire got to read a book to our friends before bed.

The last time these lovely ladies came to visit it was right after Hurricane Ike. We went back to Galveston this trip to see how much better it looks! 

 Of course, if you come to visit us, you also sign up to participate in school. The teacher, Ms. Claire

runs a pretty strict classroom!

 We all tried something we hadn't done before...riding a Segway. Jeff found an indoor course that we got to experience. It was a lot of fun!

We had busy but wonderful couple of days with great friends! Thankful for these terrific ladies in our lives!