Miller's School Parade and Egg Hunt

Miller's school had an Easter Parade and all the kiddos wore Easter Hats/Bonnets. I had a hard time figuring out what type of Easter hat a boy might wear. That's where the bunny ears came in . A perfect bonnet alternative for a boy.

Here is his class walking in the parade.

After the parade, his class had their Easter Egg Hunt. Miller loved every minute of it.

Miller's Caterpillar class!

Miller and his girlfriend Hannah. They say they are going to get married. She is such a sweetheart and so cute.

I had to get the brother picture!

Easter - Egg Hunt with Friends

The Wednesday before Easter we went to our first Egg Hunt of the season. Katie had all the Tuesday night Bible Study girls and their kids over for a fun afternoon. It's always so much fun to get the whole crew together.

Miles is so good - he just hangs out the the stroller as happy as can be.

Loving the bunny ears.

All the kiddos lined up and were ready to race for the eggs. Next year we will add five more egg hunters to this mix. I really wish we would of taken a picture of all the babies together. From the left: Caroline and Katherine Clark, Charoltte Cagle, Anne Louise Clark, Claire Cagle, Miller, Annie Macey and David Lee in the front.

Ready, Set, Go! Looks like Miller got a slow start.

But don't worry, he made up for it. He even found the one I hid inside the tree.

Bike Ride from Houston to Austin

Another successful MS 150 for Jud!

Jud wrote:

Many have asked me how the ride went. I will get to that but I wanted to share a horrible story with you from the ride. Standing in line at our tent waiting for our Saturday evening meal we met some some ladies that were on our team and started taking about how their ride went and how they got involved with the MS150. One of them explained she was diagnosed with MS a little over two years ago and that is why they ride. Continuing with our conversation (the line for food was about a 30 minute wait) we learned quite a bit about their lives. We found out that the girl with MS was divorced because her husband left her when she was diagnosed. We were all in shock and it turns my stomach thinking about her situation. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for her to deal with having MS and what it has done to her life. Yet, she holds her head high and is out riding for a cure so others do not have to suffer the hardship that she has had to endure.

I share this story so you understand this ride isn’t about ME or my friends that I ride with, but it is about those with MS and how devastating this disease can be.

We left Saturday morning from Katy, TX around 6:20 AM and were on the bikes for 4 hours and 55 minutes. Day two we were off in the first pack of riders around 6:45AM and were on our bikes for 4 hours and 10 minutes. This year we took the Bechtel Challenge option route through Bastrop State Park since my riding buddies, Blake, Jeff and Rex had never done it. Much more hilly but a great ride! At one point, one of the hills is a 19 degree grade! So after two days, over 9 hours on the bike, more than 10,000 calories burned, and a lot of fun, we finished in Austin around 12:30 on Sunday afternoon. Thousands of supporters come out to cheer us on as we rode into Austin. Each year it is very emotional seeing people with MS in wheelchairs with signs of “Thank you for riding because I can’t”. This is what keeps me coming back!

So, if you haven’t donated for the 2011 ride please feel free to view my personal page to make a contribution to the MS society. I have yet to reach my goal. If you have, Thank You! I will be back in 2012 to do it again!

Ride for Him!

Jud

They spend so much time together over the two days, they learn to really love each other!

Miles - Nine Months

I can't believe Miles is 9 months old. He's such a big boy now...literally a big boy. At his 9 month check-up he was almost 24 lbs (88%) and 32.75 inches long (99%). That means at nine months Miles was 3.5" longer than Miller was at 9 months. UNBELIEVABLE!

He's still such a happy boy, especially since he kicked his two month long ear infection. He now has six teeth, with one currently pushing through. He absolutely loves to eat and eat a lot. He is still getting all the puree's I'm making, but also has been introduced to quite a bit of table food. He loves bread and cheese - go figure. He can give you five, shakes his head no anytime the word is mentioned, waves bye bye, knows the words cat, jump and shake to name a few and we are working on learning a few signs and clapping.

We snapped this the other morning right after they both woke up. They love each other so much and Miller couldn't be a better big brother.

We love our sweet Miles so much and he has added so much joy to our lives.

Miller's Spring School Picture

Toy Story on Ice

Friday before last, Jud took the morning off, Noni watched Miles, Miller skipped school and we went to Disney on Ice - Toy Story 3. Miller was so excited. I wasn't expecting much and was actually quite impressed. The skating was very good and the costumes actually looked like toys. Miller was in awe for the entire two hours. He loved it so much that he started crying when all the characters left, the lights went on and he realized it was over.

Jud at the Final Four

The NCAA Final Four was in Houston this year and Jud went with my dad and Blake (brother-in-law). I'm a little jealous there wasn't a ticket for me.

They even sat in Amegy's suite. Yep, even more jealous.

They met John Sally, former NBA player and TV host.

Jud also met Ndamukong Suh who played for Nebraska and is now in the NFL. Since Jud is from Lincoln and a huge Husker fan, they talked NE football for a bit too.

Jud's Uncle Jud and Aunt Sue were in town for an FCA conference and the Final Four. Jud took them to play golf at Royal Oaks.

They also were able to come over and see the house and meet Miles. They brought lots of goodies for the kids including a Cookie Bouquet for Miller. We then went to lunch at Pappadeaux's and sat at a table right next to Yao Ming. When Yao stood up to leave, Miller kept saying, "Wow, that's a really tall man" over and over again.

GraMary & Grandpa Time

GraMary & Grampa (Jud's parents) came to stay with Miller and Miles while we were in Williamsburg. Miller said he had so much fun. It's so nice to be able to leave the kids and not have to worry about anything.

Miller had so much fun with them and they even took them to Wonderwild twice. Miller just loves that place and he especially loves the jumping pillow. Here is GraMary with both boys on the jumping pillow.

They snapped this super sweet picture while they were here. Thanks for the new outfits!

We got back on Monday night and then we all headed to the zoo on Tuesday. We've had perfect zoo weather here lately.

Before they left, we all went to the new Cheesecake Factory by our house to celebrate Mary's birthday. Not a bad group pic.

What awesome grandparents - thanks so much!

Williamsburg, VA

Jud and I went to Williamsburg, Virginia with my parents, Evan and Blake to attend Evan's best friend from high school's wedding. We added on a few days before and after the wedding since none of us had ever been there. Jud's parents came in town to watch the boys while we were gone (those pics to come later).

We stayed at the Wedmore Place at the Williamsburg Winery (picture below). It's a boutique hotel with 28 different European inspired rooms. Each room had a wood burning fire place. That is a great selling point, until you get there and realize that all the rooms smell faintly like soot (that was the only negative). The hotel was quaint with beautiful grounds. One afternoon, we took a tour/tasting of the winery. I wasn't expecting much and was pleasantly surprised. The wine was good and we had a lot of fun.

On Thursday, we toured Colonial Williamsburg. I'm not really a history buff, but really enjoyed it. It was so fun to walk the streets of the 18th century. Here's the whole group in front of Governor's Palace.

In the Palace gardens. The tulips were stunning.

The Magazine (arsenal).

Up inside The Magazine on a tour.

That night we ate at Kings Arms Tavern. It originally opened in 1772 and the restaurant is set back in that time with only candlelight, waiters in costumes/character and a menu of what they would have served back then. We had a great experience and fabulous comfort food.

In the 1700's everyone used a square yard of fabric as their napkin and tied it around their neck. We thought this was genius. Why did they start making so much smaller napkins? If you know the Argue family, you would know that we could all use larger napkins most of the time.

Before the wedding on Saturday, we headed to Historic Jamestowne, the site of the first permanent English settlement in America. Currently, archaeologists are excavating a 1608 church and processing thousands of artifacts that were found in a well likely constructed in 1609 under the direction of Captain John Smith. The church was also the site where Pocahontas married Smith. We listened to an archaeologist talk about what they were digging/finding. It was so interesting and we all enjoyed watching them work. Here the site of the 1608 church.

These crosses mark graves/bodies from the 1600's and 1700's that have been found by archaeologists.

Katie is practically part of the Argue family and her wedding was absolutely beautiful. She was a stunning bride and we all had so much fun. Evan (Matron of Honor) Blake (Usher/Reader) with Katie and Austin.

This is one of our things. We love to take these shots from above. This time the bride took the place of Blake.

What a great trip! Thanks to Noni & JoJo and GraMary & Grandpa for making is happen!

YouTube Baby?

Will Miles be the next YouTube baby? Check it out for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFMf5EkEexU

Houston Rodeo

During Spring Break we took Miller to the Houston Rodeo for the day. Jud took off part of the day and Noni watched Miles. Miller remembered going last year and was so excited.

One of Miller's friends was able to do Mutten Bustin' (ride a really fast sheep across an arena) even though he was only 4 years old. The rules state that you have to be 5 and a certain weight. They didn't seem to care about the age just as long as you were big enough. Anyway, we went straight to sign Miller up and he was really excited to ride a sheep, until he saw a little boy fall off and get trampled. The boy was ok (all the kids wear a padded vest and helmet) but Miller decided then and there that he was not going to get on a sheep. Not even a real cowboy could talk him into it. He did say that he would ride one next year when he was 4. If you know my husband, he was not happy that we couldn't get our $10 back. :)

We then went to the petting zoo and Miller enjoyed the really big pig. He also thought it was really funny when the deer tried to eat his shirt.

Jud and Miller waiting in line to ride a camel. Yes, I said camel. For some reason they have camel rides at the rodeo and Miller chose to ride a camel over a pony since he had just rode a pony at his school rodeo round-up.

Hanging on tight.

Posing...even the camel is smiling.

Miller was most excited about riding rides.

Mini roller coaster with daddy.

He barely made it to the car before he fell asleep. He was so tired.