Chicago

This weekend we went to my cousin's wedding in Chicago. Irene and Roberto spent time with Avery and Alia while we were at the wedding and the reception. When Irene asked Avery what kind of things he likes to do, he said "I like to eat snow." I have no idea where that came from since it's summer and he's never said that before! I think Avery did a great job of entertaining Irene. We had a great weekend but learned that 4 miles in Chicago doesn't mean a short trip! It took us 45 minutes to go 4 miles and we missed the wedding. We walked in just as they kissed. Oh well, at least we made it to the reception.

Scott showing how excited he is to get stuck in traffic.

Scott walked in and took this picture as they were walking down the aisle.




This was my favorite part of the trip. For years my grandpa and I have had a long standing joke. I have always snuck up behind him and messed up his hair. He always knows it' s me and will say, "That must be Brandee." I love the look on his face, it was a big genuine laugh when Scott took the picture.

First Day of Preschool

Today was a milestone in Avery's life, he started preschool!!!! It was strange coming home without him and a little lonely on the walk. I kept asking Alia questions but she wouldn't answer me. She must have been enjoying nature. When I asked him what he did today he said he played outside. He also told me he met a new friend whose name was enee enee long finger. I look forward to meeting that friend!


Here he is with the bucket the 3 year olds carry to and from school. He and Scott spray painted it last week.

Blue Steel

Be prepared, this post is full of a lot of pictures. I was uploading pictures from my camera the other day and came across these. They instantly made me laugh. I really love the relationship Scott and Avery have. It means a lot to me that Avery is blessed to have a Daddy who loves him so much and loves spending time with him. When I asked Scott what they were doing here he said they were doing a photo shoot, but Avery corrected him and said they were being models.
Here are my goofy boys.....

Milky Fireworks

Kids try this one at home! We have done this experiment before when Avery was much too young to appreciate it, so we decided to do it again the other day. The experiment came from here and is fun to watch and simple to set up. This is a great site, so check it out when you get a chance.

Geo Ninjas!

We enjoyed the really warm day outside geocaching. Yes, we're that really cool family you see with matching shirts looking under rocks and other things for clues. Our geocaching nickname has always been 3 minjas. It stands for miniature ninjas because they are even sneakier than a big ninja. Don't ask me how we ended up with a ninja theme, but we did. I think it's because we wanted to be sneaky in the woods and unseen by others. Anyway we found these shirts in December and were finally able to wear them today on our hunt. When we find a cache, we leave behind a small, plastic ninja so if you see one we were probably there. But remember, we're ninjas and you can't see us.





Avery's holding the cache. It was a fake rock hidden with the rocks next to Scott. It's funny how we've walked this trail several times and never once noticed it. Cache's are everywhere in plain site.

Alia and Banana 6 months

Here's the monthly banana picture with a few others in the mix:





You think anyone will notice the drool on my chin?


Yes, that's right I have some sweet ninja moves!

Photo Updates

Alia 6 Months


Avery 3 yrs

Although these photos turned out pretty good the other 159 photos we deleted looked more like the one below.

Avery and Gaven's Birthday in Platteville

Gaven turned 11


Avery and the monkey cupcakes Amanda picked out


Hitting the pinata full of candy


All of the kids waiting for a chance to get at the candy


Amanda put up the water slide for the party


There was a major hail storm that went through Platteville when we were there. In this picture we are in Amanda's basement. The boys are trying to do crafts even though water is coming in through the walls and ruining their creations. Avery was just happy sitting on Daddy's lap and reading stories. Alia decided it was a good idea to scream while we were in the small, cramped space.


We ventured out the next day to look for storm damage. It was quite the storm with winds up to 90 miles an hour, hail, and lots of rain. We were running through the hail to get to shelter and Amanda was hit several times. She has bruises to prove it, so did our rental car.
There were several trees down at our local park. This picture shows three of the biggest ones.


This is what happens when you leave the two experimenters alone. Avery was pumping the air pump while Austin held the end in the bird seed container.


Then they put the nozzle in the cage to see if they could blow seed at the birds. It actually worked.


Alia playing with my cousin's daughter.

Happy 3rd Birthday Avery!

Grandpa and Grandma Davis came for a visit to help us celebrate Avery's birthday. Here are a few of the highlights:


When I asked him what he wanted this year for his birthday, he said a lion. We compromised with him and made him a lion cake since I don't think a lion would get along very well with Venus.


He asked to have a piece of the eye.


Meet Peacock, the newest member of our family. Aunt Laura and Tony gave Avery a fish for his birthday. Peacock is a Beta.



Here is Avery on his new balance bike. It teaches children how to ride a bike without needing training wheels.






Grandma and Grandpa wanted to explore our new city so we rented golf carts for a day.


We enjoyed a visit to the Georgia aquarium, the world's largest.




Cooling off in our pool.

Grandma and Grandpa, thanks for visiting us during Avery's birthday and making it a special one! Orla and Tony, thank you for Peacock, what a great gift for a 3 year old!

And last but not least...


1 week


1 year


2 years


3 years