Merry Christmas

Carter gets his tonsils out.

Carter had his tonsils taken out August 26th. Many warned us that it would take a 'good' two weeks to have the old Carter bug back to normal and I have to agree. During that two weeks we had some good days, but for the most part he was back to his normal self two weeks later.

Carter wasn't having sore throats or any illness problems, but the way his tonsils were growing and the size of them, the doctor suggested we get them taken out while he was young. The doctor said that the tonsils would end up touching and causing many problems in the long run.

We are so proud of our little Patient Carter. He was so brave and wanted to ride the bed into surgery, but coming out was not so much fun. For a good week he would not let me out of his sight and wanted to hold my hand constantly, even when he slept. But honestly he was such a big brave boy. He far exceeded our expectations.

Farm Fun in July

We love to go out to the farm and spending family time out there. We always find little things to do. This time it included fishing, BB gun shots, and riding the four wheeler. Every time it is a little something different, but it always end the same with big smiles on my boys faces.

Bay fun at POCO time.

OUR SWEET SONS!

Saying bye to daddy before he headed out. Carter was not happy for his daddy to leave.

The cousin's in their matching Hydrocarbon shirts in front of the boat.

All 4 boys, best friends and cousins.

Bye Hydrocarbon, GOOD LUCK!

Poco is a fishing tournament that the Jess, his brothers, and a few friends fish in every summer.. We spend lots of time at the bay during that week, first with daddy before he heads out, and then with friends and family while they are gone. This year they didn't place, but had a great time and wonderful fishing weather for the 2 days they stayed out and fished..

While the boys were out, us girls got to entertain the kiddos and keep them happy. We swam a lot and fished. By the time the boys went down at the end of the night they were done. I made sure I wore them out during the day so they would sleep good for me at night. We had a wonderful time at the bay, as we always do.

Paw Paw fishing with Drake and Carter.

Jumping for Joy!

The WILD man at the pool.

Me and MY BOYS!! Nothing better than that!

Sea World June 2010

Our Sweet Boys at the JW Marriott Hotel

The JW Marriott in San Antonio was amazing!!! A beautiful new hotel with lots of fun for the kids and heck the parents too. We arrived there on Thursday, just enough time to swim in the 'main' pool, because the slides and river close at 7. So the kids got to swim which made them very happy and after dinner we headed up to bed because tomorrow was going to be a FUN HOT day at SEA WORLD..

Sea World was our day for Friday. And a long day it was, but oh so fun. It seemed like there were not a lot of people at the park, which made for happy parents. We had bought the quick passes so if the line was to long, we didn't have to wait. Honestly we didn't have to use it much. The lines were never THAT long and the shows didn't seem too packed.


The Shamu show Believe was lovely as always. I was nervous because so many people told me I wouldn't like it because the trainers are not allowed in the water with the animals anymore. But like the previous years I was moved to tears because to me it was amazing. Drake and Marlie went down and sat in the splash zone. Three rows up and when Shamu's tail slapped that water, they were soaked. Carter on the other hand decided to be smart and sit up with us and enjoy popcorn and watch the show 20 rows up.

Another one of our family favorites parts of Sea World is feeding the Dolphins. My kids, and Dad LOVE to feed the dolphins. This year we were good about only buying 3 plates of food. Where as the past we would buy about 6 and return back a few times during the day.


We LOVED all the rides. Even the big people, Jess, Steven, and Stefanie, went and rode a few roller coasters as we watched as they went by. Carter got his first taste of Atlantis and LOVED it. First time they rode back row and last they got to sit front row. He begged and begged to go again, but we were ready to move on. Drake on the other had is like his mother and not crazy at all about heights. So he did NOT want to ride, just wanted to hang out and get drenched by the ride. I think we will have a dare devil for dad, and someone to hang out with mom on the sidelines.

Check out Carter and Dad on the front row.

Saturday was spent all day at the hotel. We got to the pool around 10:30 and did not leave for a minute till 9:30 that night. 11 HOURS at the pool, made for some tired kiddos and tired parents. But we had a blast. The resort is amazing. They have 3 tube slides for the kids, two small slides in the kiddie pool, a lazy river, and then a big pool where they play the movie. We hung out mostly in the kid area for Carter, which was right next to the slides so it made everyone happy. Not that we sat much, because Carter loved the slides and so did we. Drake has hit that age where he kinda would go and do his own thing. He would let us know where he was going and he would come and check in with us, or after a bit we would go over where he was. He is growing up so fast. He makes us so proud because of the big guy he is becoming, but it is sad because my 1st baby is getting SO BIG!! I have to savory all these moments I still have with him. Once it started getting to early evening we moved over to the big pool and found some seats where we could enjoy the movie. The kids swam and ate ice cream while we hung out and vegged in the chairs. We didn't make it through the whole movie, once 9:30 hit, Carter and Drake said they were ready to go to bed.



So off to bed we went and within 5 minutes of there bath, they were out.. Totally tired..Can you tell the Richards are staying here... Drake's 3 gogies, Carters paci's and blanket, and his new friend Dollie the Dolphin from Sea World. What it doesn't show is that mommy brought her own 2 pillows and blanket. :) We had a wonderful time and a perfect vacation was had..