Super Bowl!

I have never been one who liked to watch sports....basket ball is the only one that I have ever watched willingly....but Chris mentioned that he would like to watch the Super Bowl...and because we don't have a lot of evenings together we decided to watch it together. And while I have to admit, that even though I went into it not really caring what happened and not really interested in the sport, I had a great time watching the game the commercials and the half time show, but most of all I loved watching my boys watching the game. Aden was more interested in playing and eating junk food than actually watching the game...Raleigh did some playing but what really surprised me was how much he loved sitting with his daddy and watching the game!

He enjoyed the junk food too...
Here he is pointing out a particularly good play.

It was so funny and great to have some family time.

Come Fly With Me

One thing that can be said about flying with kids, besides that is crazy expensive, is that the flight crew and people at the airport are SUPER understanding and helpful. With Chris being injured it was especially nice to have great help. On the way up they were so good to help us on the flight and get us seated first and on the way back they gave us an entire row to ourselves. The boys flew very well considering their age. On the way up Raleigh wouldn't sleep...he wanted to walk around and play and anything but sleep...but when we got their and his Grandpa took over holding him he passed out in Grandpa's arms...it was so cute. On the way back he sat with his daddy on the other side of the row and fell asleep almost at once. Aden was so excited to fly and was jumping up and down the whole time...he LOVED it so much and for days before and days after flying it was all he could talk about!

Our Trip to the Zoo!

One of our favorite things that we did while in Washington, apart from having a great time just visiting, was going to the Zoo with Grandma and Grandpa. As usual Aden loved the fishes...and Raleigh liked them too.

We took in a little show of the animals that they have trained to do some really fun tricks.

Raleigh spent much of the Zoo on Grandpa's shoulders...this being his first trip to a Zoo I think he loved seeing everything from up there!

We got a stroller for the boys to ride in between animals because they are way to heavy to pack all the time :)

Checking out the Elephants...

Raleigh LOVED them...he even tried to make the noise

Raleigh and his Daddy take a break in front of the penguins...sorry this was the cutest picture but you can't see the penguins very well.

Chris lifting Aden to get a better look.

Raleigh loves his Grandpa

A little Mere cat saying hello to the boys....they thought he was the coolest thing ever.

Aden was a little leery of the armadillo but Raleigh was all for giving him a pat!

what is a trip to the Zoo without a group picture! We had a great time and owe a big Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma for being such great hosts and taking such good care of us.

While in Washington

We tried to fit as much fun as possible into our trip. A few of the things we did...

Hung out with Grandpa and Grandma Tortured...I mean played with Auntie Brooke

Fed the Birds with Grandma...

... helped Grandpa around the yard.

and Raleigh showedoff his dancing skills!

Trip to Washington

So after Chris's surgery we headed up to Washington to spend the recovery with his family. Raleigh got to fly for the first time and Aden for the second time. It was so fun to see how excited they were for the trip. They were excited to see their Granparents and Aunties and Cousin Cameron. And as you can tell from the pictures they were excited to be out of the car/plane.

Chris's Shoulder Surgery

Before...still smiley but hungry...nothing makes you hungry like someone telling you that you can't eat. Back home with his shoulder padded like he was going to play football.

But still able to slap on a smile...gotta love the drugs :D

So Thursday before the sun even came up we headed over to the hospital for Chris's shoulder surgery. For those who don't know, he damaged his shoulder on his mission and has dealt with pain and dislocations since. This last year has been particularly hard so we decided to get it fixed. Chris really likes his doctor and things went really smoothly. The doctor said that he could have the pictures of the actual surgery next week when he goes in for his check up. So when he brings those home I will scan them and add them to this post. The doctor went in arthroscopically and was very optimistic about the whole thing and said Chris should be in much less pain...once he heals up from the surgery of course.

The Rest of The Party

Here is Aden on his new bike! :D

So while I was taking and editing pictures the guests played games and decorated their hero capes. Presents and cake and ice cream followed. All in all a great party thanks to everyone who came. Aden LOVED the hero theme and ran around in his cape and loved showing off his Spiderman cake.

Boom! Smack! POW!

This is Aden's Birthday comic book....It was so fun to see all the kids get excited about posing and getting into character. Even the reluctent kids got into it eventually. It was so fun and I love how it turned out!