Talent Show

Here are the movies of the girls in the primary talent show this morning, including the much anticipated rendition of "I am a Child of God" in opera by Ali.

4D pictures of Brock

We had these done a while ago, but have been too lazy to post them.

Florida Trip

Aubrey and Dave went on a quick jaunt to Florida to use up some expiring free airline tickets. The trip started in Saint Louis with a layover. They took the train as far as time would allow and saw the arch from a distance, barely returning to the airport in time for the flight to Florida. They stayed on Key Biscayne Friday and Saturday nights. They swam in the pool and ocean, visited the Keys (Key Largo mostly), and went to Gator Park for a tour of the Everglades. As the hurricane approached, they changed their plans and drove up to Orlando early Sunday morning and stayed at a Disney World resort. They first went to the Animal Kingdom theme park, then spent 6 hours at Blizzard Beach, a water park there in Disney World. After that, they went to the Magical Kingdom for another 6 hours until it closed at 3:00 am. They then flew back home on Monday, thoroughly exhausted.

Ali Surgery

Well, on August 6, Ali had another surgery. They removed 3 more nodes in her neck. They were not as enlarged as the first round, and ended up not even being infected. We are hoping that this marks the last of the surgeries for her. In the picture below, the horizontal cut on her neck is what we just finished. You can't see the other incision below her jaw in this picture, but there are 3 total now.

House Remodeling

Dave has decided to tear up the house and install an arch and a coffured ceiling in the kitchen and family rooms. When we started this, I don't think we realized how much work it would be. Right now, the kitchen is done, the arch is waiting on pre-formed trim, and the living room is waiting on new lighting. Dave also installed framing in the baby's room upstairs.

New York Vacation

We took a trip (without the kids) to New York City with Susie and Gareth. We went through the park, went up the Empire State Building, shopped, rode the subways and taxis, and walked all over the city. Oh, and we also ate like there was no tomorrow.

Sea World

Since Aubrey achieved the unbelievable and passed third grade, we decided to take the family and one of Aubrey's friends (Alexis Randall) on a trip to San Diego. While there, we swam in the hotel pools, went down the waterslides, and spent most of three days at Sea World. The kids had a blast and everyone was worn out by Saturday night when we arrived back home.