MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Happy Holidays to all!

Love
Nicole, Jason, and Bryce

Trick or Treat

This year Bryce wanted to be Peter Pan again for Halloween. Works for me....I refused to spend the $39.99 for the Scooby Doo, so when he decided Peter again, I was all for it. Breckin got to go along this year and he was the cutest Tigger I have ever seen. We went around our neighborhood to gather the goods, and pulled the boys in Breckin's little red wagon. It seemed to all that they had a great time. They got some candy, but there aren't that many people who participate in our neighborhood. It is enough candy to make Bryce happy though and that is all I care about! Here are just a few pics of the trick or treaters:

Getting a ride to the first house of the night

Staying warm and waiting patiently to get under way

Checking each other out once they were loaded up


Blue eyed Tigger!

Week in Review

Well, Bryce has finally adjusted to Bella not being here. He has done very well--after the initial 2-3 days of aggressive behavior and "deafness" to adult directions.

We tried to make it a fun week this past week, and tonight we are making cookies together. He loves to do that. I have hopes that one day he will be a famous chef.

We went out to lunch today and we took Breckin with us. Both boys did remarkably well, and it is nice to have a pleasant lunch with my son and nephew--just the 3 of us. I can't wait for them both to get older and we can go and do all sorts of fun things!

This past Saturday we went to Hershey Park in the Dark. Bryce rode the Trailblazer last year---the smallest roller coaster there---and cried the ENTIRE time. At the end, he wiped away the tears and stated that it wasn't so bad. THIS YEAR, he screamed the whole time and had a blast. We had to ride it 3 times in a row and he wanted to go more. However, Mom was the one who was starting to feel sick and had to put a halt to the rerides. **Note to others--don't eat a soft pretzel and drink Pepsi before riding** There weren't that many people in line, so when we would go back, we would walk right into a waiting car. He screamed the entire ride all 3 times, but at least I knew he was breathing.
Then he rode the kiddie pirate ship and loved that as well. Bryce vows that he WILL ride Splash Mountain when we go in late November to Walt Disney World.

On another note, Bryce got his school pictures back this week. He wears his glasses all day at school, so he has them on in the picture. The photographer was able to "fix" his puffy purple lip from the fall he had 2 days before the pics. I am impressed with the result!!!



I think he looks about 10 in this pic, but it is just because he is growing so quickly. The last time we measured him, he was 42 inches. That was almost 4 months ago, and I KNOW that he has grown since then.

Sad Day

I hate to write about sad things on the blog, but this was too important not to acknowledge it's occurance. Tonight we had to put our oldest dog, Bella, to sleep. She had a tumor on her hind quarters that we had removed a year or two ago, but it just kept growing. It was to the point that she couldn't walk properly and the last week she really had trouble going to the bathroom etc. You could tell she didn't feel well, and she actually started to hemorrhage into that area internally. As a family, we decided that putting her to sleep was the humane option. Bryce was included in the decision and was there when she was put to sleep at his own request. I think he handled it very maturely, and the tears he cried were for one of his very best friends.

Isabella Marie Durham was born December 22, 2000. We adopted her in March of 2001---with my first tax return as an RN. She was a great dog and we all have very happy memories of her. So this page is dedicated to the memory of a stubborn soul with big chocolate eyes full of life and love for her humans. We will never forget you and know that you have found your star in heaven.

Below are just a few pictures of Bella. Unfortunately, all of her puppy pictures were taken with 35mm film--digital cameras weren't that popular when we first got her.

Bryce and Bella were inseperable when he was small

A final picture of the duo taken this afternoon

Chance just keeps growing and growing and ......

Chance is officially 4 months old today. He is getting HUGE and we lovingly refer to his as our horse. He is not that big, but compared to Bella he is HUGE. We know that he won't get too big--we hope--but the rate of growth is phenomenal.




Here is an old photo from when we first brought him home for comparison:

Fat Lip

Every wonder what happens when small face meets playroom floor at high rate of speed: well, the picture isn't pretty! Bryce was playing in the playroom last night and went to run after the puppy. Instead, his feet slipped out from under him and he fell lips first into the floor. There was quite a bit of blood involved and LOTS of tears. These pictures are taken the morning after it happened and it doesn't look any prettier.
AND by the way, tomorrow just happens to be school picture day!! At least we had professional pictures just taken at the beach.

The aquarium and a MONSTER truck

While we were in the Outer Banks, we went to the aquarium. It is rather small, but Bryce loves it. They have touch tanks and this year he actually touched a sting ray. He also touched the starfish, but he did that last year too. New for this year at the aquarium they have a green screen, and they can put your pictures into funny backgrounds. The two we chose are below. Bryce really loves the shark. It was fun to do.


FROGS everywhere. Do we look fly sized??


HELP, Jaws has got us!


On the way into the Outer Banks, you pass the home of Grave Digger. On our way back home, we did a little side trip and stopped. We happened to be there at the right time because on Saturdays they offer rides for $5 per person. Bryce was ECSTATIC that he could ride in a monster truck and I think my Dad was just as happy!!! Bryce now vows that every year we go to the Outer Banks, he needs a Monster Truck ride.

Bryce and Pap getting settled and buckled up for their ride


Bryce's favorite part--driving over the school bus


Bryce and Jason posing beside/on an older model of Grave Digger

Professional Beach Pictures

Since we were going to be at the beach, Amber decided that she wanted to get Breckin's 9 month pictures done there. We split the cost and made it a whole family affair. We arranged a sitting with a professional photographer about 6 months before we went. He took about 125 pictures and we had our album before we left. He also gave us a disc and all copyright info to make bigger sizes or copies of things. They all turned out GREAT!!! Here a quite a few:


The WHOLE group.


Bryce and Breckin playing in the sand


Me, my Dad, and Adam


Amber, Adam, and Breckin


Bryce looking as cute as ever

The Lighthouse

Today is our last full day so we went to the lighthouse in Corolla. Bryce decided that he wanted to climb up it, so even though I am afraid of heights, up we went. I paid my $7--Bryce was free-- and we began our climb. After 214 steps, we arrived at the top and the view was awesome. My legs felt like JELLO--both from the climb and the effort, but it was worth it. It didn't help that about an hour prior I had a BIG cup of coffee, so I was extra jittery. Bryce did fabulous and even though it was REALLY windy, we got some good pictures.

The view from the ground


Bryce looking out through the railing at the top


The view to the ocean


The view of the sound


Bryce walking down the steps after we were done

OBX continued

We are having a great vacation and with the exception of one day, the weather has been fabulous! Bryce has been really good--most of the time--and he is having a blast. We went to the beach again today and flew a kite, played in the water, and fed the seagulls. Bryce thinks that is the absolute best thing in the world. I swear the seagulls just appear out of nowhere. I feel like I am in Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS when the seagulls all appear.
We definitely plan on coming back again next year---I think this will be our forever (yearly) family trip. I really want Bryce to remember or think of the Outer Banks and think of happy family times.
We also took Bryce and Breckin to play miniature golf for the first time yesterday. Breckin hung out in the stroller, but Bryce did pretty well for his first ever trip to play miniature golf. We went to a place called Mutiny Bay and of course the whole theme is pirates.
Here are some pictures of us all enjoying ourselves.

Bryce and Breckin posing on the frog at the aquarium


Bryce standing on the edge of the touch tank for stingrays at the aquarium



Adam playing in the sand at the beach while Breckin takes it all in


Bryce posing on a huge anchor that was a prop at the Mutiny Bay miniature golf course.


Feeding the FLOCK OF SEAGULLS

Breckin playing with his toys at home


Adam and Breckin at the beach


Amber and Breckin enjoying the beach


Breckin lounging in the pool

OBX 2008

We came down to the Outer Banks yesterday for our week long vacation. We made excellent time--with 2 stops we were here within 7 hours.
After a few bumps and obstacles, we are off to a great start and loving our vacation. Bryce loves water in any form and if we are not at the beach, we are here in the pool or hot tub.
Yesterday, we settled in. Today we went to the beach for a little in the morning, and then swam most of the afternoon. Tonight we did some shopping and dining out, then came home again and went into the pool. There was a huge locust at the pool, and it was hysterical to watch Bryce with it.
The weather here is perfect for vacation. It is in the low 90s with high humidity. Not my favorite weather, but perfect for the beach and pool.
We have a lot planned for the rest of the week--mostly relaxing, but other posts will follow as I get some free time.

Adam and Bryce at the beach. I didn't know at the time what Bryce was doing with his left hand, but it turns out he had about a pound of sand in his swimsuit from "body surfing" in the water's
edge.

My dad enjoying himself at the beach

Bryce and Breckin just hanging out

Bryce in his life jacket and "power boat" in the pool

Bryce LOVES the hot tub!

Bryce literally begging Dave to get into the hot tub with him. If you can't tell, Dave got REALLY sun burnt today!

The LOCUST
Bryce running away when the locust started to move and make it's call ( I guess that is the sound it makes)

Random pics from Land of Little Horses

Here are a few more random pictures from our visit.


Breckin just kicking back and having a good time


Bryce ready to run and see everything all at once!

Breckin on the horse tire swing


The peacock following Bryce. I think it thought he had food.


Family pic--Adam, Amber, and Breckin (now 9 mths old)