cruisin' away...

So, to celebrate Aunt Helen's 40th birthday in April, Daddy & Mommy went with her, Uncle Todd, Oma, and their friend, Mary-Elaine on a cruise this past week. (Since you can't travel after you are 24 weeks pregnant, they had to go now instead of in April when it's Aunt Helen's actual birthday!) The 7 day Holland America cruise made 4 stops...Grand Turks, St. Thomas, San Juan, & Half Moon Cay. What a wonderful, relaxing time they had together...laughing, eating, sleeping, and celebrating Aunt Helen!

Daddy & Mommy...sitting poolside...and ocean side! :)

Daddy enjoying the swimming pool.

The birthday girl...& Uncle Todd

Daddy & Mommy

All ready for another wonderful dinner!

Oma & her girls...Mommy & Aunt Helen

On this night, they chose to eat a fancy dinner at the Pinnacle Grill on board the ship. Lobster bisque, jumbo shrimp cocktail, fresh ceaser salad made tableside, filet mignon, & yummy chocolate dessert were part of the dining experience.

The girls at dinner...Aunt Helen, Oma, Mary-Elaine, & Mommy

Daddy & Mommy...enjoying another dinner together!

One night on the cruise, there was a midnight chocolate buffet...all the food had some sort of chocolate on/in it. The crew make some beautiful creations...

Formal night on the cruise...

Daddy with Oma & Mary Elaine

Aunt Helen & Uncle Todd

Daddy & Oma

Enjoying their last stop...Half Moon Cay. This is a private island owned by Holland America. They enjoyed laying out, reading, playing cards, & relaxing! And, yes, that is their cruise ship in the background!

Sisters...& Friends!

The water was SO blue...it was absolutely gorgeous!

Daddy & Mommy are in a pirate ship in this picture...

The boys...Uncle Todd & Daddy

Daddy, Mommy, Uncle Todd, & Aunt Helen...relaxing on the beach!

Mommy with Aunt Helen & Mary Elaine...

Can you see the gorgeous water and color changes in the water?

The last night...

What a wonderful time Daddy & Mommy had with Uncle Todd, Aunt Helen, Oma, & Mary Elaine. We were super excited to see them when they got home...& they were really excited to see us as well. A big thanks to Poppy, Nana, Uncle Blair, & Aunt Brittany for taking such good care of us so that Daddy & Mommy could really enjoy their trip.

the greatest show on earth...

As a surprise, Daddy & Mommy took Averie & me to the circus. It was my very first time...and it was Averie's second time going. We had no idea what we were doing...we just knew it was going to be fun. We started our evening with dinner at Pike's...yummy! Then, we rode the light rail to uptown Charlotte. That was a lot of fun. After we got off, we walked into the stadium, Daddy turned to us and said, "We're going to the circus." We were super excited...even though I had no idea what the circus was! But, seeing everyone else excited made me excited! We had a blast...and we loved every bit of it! :)

Averie & me...waiting for the light rail to come pick us up!

Our group (minus the grown-ups, of course!)...Stephanie, Carter, Kaitlyn, Averie, McKinly, and me

Quick family shot (minus Brecken) before getting on the light rail!

And...we're here! Our seats were about 11 rows back...center stage! They were awesome! Daddy & me are super excited...

...& so is Averie!

Let the show begin...clowns, lights, animals...action everywhere! We were mesmerized!

Us with Mommy!

Us enjoying the show...even if our facial expressions don't look like it! :)

This super cool hat came with the cotton candy we got...I liked the hat more than the cotton candy!

Mommy & me

Averie liked the hat better than the cotton candy also! But, we both really LOVED the circus!

McKinly & me...with our hats...and our super cool swords!

Stephanie & Averie...with their super cool hats!

And, Daddy & me...no super cool hats...just big smiles!

With about 20 minutes left in the show, Averie feel asleep...she was so tired. I, on the other hand, couldn't stop watching all the action.

We had such a fun night. The circus is awesome, and we are so glad we got to go!

date night

Some of Daddy & Mommy's dearest friends are big LA Kings fans. So, when they found out the the Kings were playing our very own Carolina Hurricanes, they asked if Daddy & Mommy wanted to go along. So, Daddy & Mommy went to Raleigh with Mr. Shane & Mrs. Lisa to watch the Kings play the Hurricanes. Since Daddy & Mommy aren't hockey followers, they didn't know who to cheer for at first...support their friends and cheer for the Kings or cheer for the hometown team. After the first period, Daddy & Mommy couldn't help it...the hometown team won their support. So, Mr. Shane & Mrs. Lisa cheered for their beloved Kings while Daddy & Mommy cheered for the Carolina Hurricanes. And, guess what? The Canes won!! YAY! Sure was a fun trip...the hockey game, lots of eating, & lots of laughing. We are all thankful for dear friends!

Mommy & Mrs. Lisa (yes, these were their seats!)

Daddy & Mr. Shane, who was looking at Mrs. Lisa while she was also taking a picture!

Mr. Shane & Mrs. Lisa

Daddy & Mommy

a walk...and a dumptruck

Another gorgeous day...so we went for a very slow walk :)

Brecken loved it...he walked...

...and walked...

...while Brady pushed his dump truck around looking for more dirt to dig in :)

We sure love spending a few days outdoors in January!

why we love north carolina in january...

Yummy ice cream...enjoyed outdoors!

(l-r)...Kaitlyn, Brecken, Stephanie, me, Carter, & Brady