James' 4th birthday party

The weekend after James' birthday, we had a Super Hero Squad themed party at Celebrations (an indoor play place).  James requested a cookie cake with super heroes fighting a dinosaur on the top, and he got exactly what he asked for!  We had a great day with family and friends celebrating our big 4 year old!

James' 4th birthday

On James' actual birthday (June 2), we had a family celebration.  James opened a few presents first thing in the morning and then we picked up donuts. After donuts, we played a couple old fashion party games... Pin the Hammer on Thor (better known as Pin the Tail on the Donkey) and we broke a piñata.  Later in the day, we had a water balloon fight.  It was amazing how quickly the balloons got used up after taking so long to fill up.  It didn't help that Audrey was just dropping one after the other onto the ground as quickly as she could.  We continued the water fun at the water park at the YMCA.  After dinner, James got to blow out the candles on top of his (really delicious) chocolate coconut cake.

Tough Mudder (take 2 for Dave)

Dave did the Tough Mudder in October 2012, and when he finished, I wished I had done it too.  So, the team from October wanted to do it again in April, and we signed up.  The course in April was very DIFFERENT than the course in October.  Dave's first race was fairly flat, muddy, and cool/ warm.  This race was hilly, rocky, and cold.  Our team name was Royal Swine, so we wore pig noses and crowns.  The guys managed to wear their props for almost all of the race.  The girls did not even try.

I was hit by a migraine around mile 7.  I managed to finish the last 4 miles, but opted out of several obstacles (I completed 15 out of 22).  As far as I'm concerned, this Tough Mudder on this course was ridiculously hard.  Dave agreed that the 2nd race was harder, but of course he did awesome at both.  There were some really cool obstacles, like jumping through fire, crawling through tunnels into water, jumping over trenches, and running up inclines.  The worst obstacle was one called The Arctic Enema.  Basically you jump into a dumpster full of ice water, and you have to go under water because there's a board across the middle of the dumpster.  This is where it went downhill for me.  After The Arctic Enema, there were several more water obstacles (not as cold) and no real opportunity to dry off and warm up.

Overall, it was fun and challenging experience.  It'll be fun to show the kids pictures when they are older and think we are lame.  Yep, that's Dad climbing that wall, and that's Mom jumping over fire.

 

 

Easter

Disclaimer: Easter was soon after Audrey's surgery, so you might notice that her eyes are red in some of our Easter pictures.

Nana came up from Austin (Buda) to spend Easter with us.  The Easter Bunny brought the kids some new fun outdoor toys and some candy in their Easter baskets.  We went to a wonderful church service, and then James and Audrey hunted for Easter eggs in the backyard.  Next year, the Easter Bunny needs to do a better job of hiding the eggs; these kids are good!  We finished the day with a delicious lamb dinner.

Audrey's surgery

At the end of March, Audrey had to have surgery on her eyes.  They weren't staying aligned properly, and vision correction with glasses and patching weren't improving the problem, so surgery was the next step.  Audrey handled it all like a champ!  Her biggest issue before surgery was that she didn't want to take her shoes off.  So, the nurses took back to the OR in her shoes.
Here's a couple pictures of our sweet girl before surgery holding the lamb that a friend of mine (Laura Rea) gave her as a gift...

 

 

We have had several follow-ups with the surgeon since surgery, and Audrey's eyes are doing great!  So far, surgery was a success.  We were told that since Audrey is so young, there's a higher probability that she could have a recurrence and require surgery again.  We'll just keep praying that's not the case!