The Budget Wedding of the Year

We just returned home from the wedding weekend in Liberty Hill. Kate is finally married! It was a beautiful wedding. Jan, Bridgette, Rachel, Mike, and many others really outdid themselves. Unfortunately, we have no ceremony or wedding party photos at this time. But we do have a few from the reception.

Babies Love Pumpkins

I bought the babies their own pumpkins a few days ago. Morgan saw some in a neighbor's lawn and asked me for a "big pumpkin". So I got him a big one, and a slightly smaller one for Emma. They both love it. Emma is especially infatuated with her pumpkin, and starts screaming "pumpkin!" (or her version of that) as soon as we pull up to the house. They both have to rush over and pat them any chance they get. Apparently my mom isn't alone in her unbridled enthusiasm for a good pumpkin!

OTS Graduation

We just want to take a moment to congratulate Nathan on his recent graduation from Air Force OTS. Way to go, 2nd Lieutenant!
Nathan had a short week of leave and is now at his station in Shreveport, LA. During my visit to Abilene last week, he announced his "engagement" to Jennifer. I put engagement in quotes because he doesn't want to call it that until the ring is on her finger. But, they are already planning a May wedding, so I think the cat is well out of the bag, don't you? Congratulations Nathan and Jennifer!

My First Half Marathon (13.1 miles)

Today I made it to another major goal for the year: my first half marathon. I had feared that some recent foot pain might sideline me, so I'm just so thankful I was able to race today. I also really appreciate my parents driving out for the event.
I didn't know exactly what to expect today, this being my first distance race. So I set a three-tiered time goal for myself: good-1:59:59, better-1:55:00, best- under 1:50:00. To achieve that, I planned to start conservatively and chip away 3-5 seconds from each mile. I was successful in this strategy, finishing the race with a time of 1:51:32. Overall, I felt great. There were some lonely miles, but at about 8 miles I sort of partnered with one guy for awhile. I decided I wouldn't let him pass me, so we just sort of used each other to keep pace. With about 2 miles to go, he suddenly patted me on the back and said "go for it". Then I lost him. After that I had a bit of a bout with "jell-o legs" and a very tough effort for the final mile. I was reluctant to post unflattering photos of my finish, but since our readers are pretty much exclusively family, I guess I'll let you see it (you'll know which one I mean- it's pretty grisly)...

Growing Up

The kids are really growing up! Emma is now eating her snack at the big kid table with Morgan. She is very proud. And we have finally begun Morgan's transition to big boy bed by taking down one side of his crib. He has been doing great; not even falling out at night. Soon we will get my old twin bed set up for him with a new headboard and some cowboy bedding.
Finally, Emma has been getting after it at the park. We go about once a week. She climbs the stairs to the slide over and over again, smiling the whole time. Meanwhile, Morgan makes friends with everyone he sees there.

Best Buddies

Morgan and Emma have been playing hard lately. As you can see in the picture below, they wore themselves out last night. Morgan brought his blanket to the kitchen and they made themselves a bed beside me while I washed dishes.
In the video, they are practicing their jiu-jitsu skills on each other. Emma is not afraid to get in there-she love to rough house. Good thing too because Morgan does not take it easy on her.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Yesterday we reluctantly returned from our long-awaited cruise. We had such a relaxing time, and the kids got terribly spoiled spending time with both sets of grandparents. For pictures of the fun they had, you'll have to check out Wes' blog. We really appreciate everyone who helped take such good care of the babies.
Due to Hurricane Ike, we missed our first stop in Nassau, Bahamas. The water was pretty choppy for the first couple of days. But we were able to make the other two stops in St, Thomas USVI and St. Maarten. We spent our time there sightseeing, shopping, and at the beach. I think St. Maarten was my favorite stop since it had the better beach (more waves).

This is our first "elegant night"...

At the dock in St. Thomas

St. Thomas' highest point (we are having their famous banana daquiri)

Magen's Bay Beach, ranked the #10 beach in the world by National Geographic

Here you can see our ship in the port below...

This place was literally a hole in the wall; it was kind of carved out in this little alley between the shops. We should have been bold enough to order conch fritters, but... I ended up with a chicken salad sandwich.

Here's a shot down one of the alleys, with the entrance to our restaurant in the foreground.

St. Thomas had seemingly thousands of upscale shops like this one.

This is St. Maarten on the French side. There is an open air market in the foreground, a pretty ritzy mall further back, and then a 300- year- old fort at the top of the hill. You can also see their many flags.

This is the port at St. Maarten, on the Dutch side.

Here's our monkey...

And here we are with our "table mates", Dwayne and Chrissy from the D.C. area.

We enlisted Chrissy professional photography services.

And here's Emma in her new dress from St. Maarten (she's holding a handmade doll from there as well).

And here's Morgan in his Virgin Islands T-shirt.