Disney

The Larges tackle Disney World. I was really scared about the prospect but the Disney dream kept us going! Eloise LOVED the rides, the characters, and the ice cream. She surpassed all my expectations. We can't wait to go again!

This is what lots of bribery looks like: a happy chocolate covered toddler who made it through Disney with minimal tears. We couldn't have made it without all the sugar to keep us going! It was great!

Week in Vero

We loved relaxing in Vero with Nena, Pops, and the Kids (the puppies). Eloise loved bossing the dogs around, playing in the water, and drinking all the fresh orange juice she wanted. Alex and I enjoyed napping, some nights out on the town, and being pampered by the 'rents. Thanks Nena and Pops for everything!

The beach was fun!

Happy 30th Birthday Alex! Here we are on our way to dinner at Gloria Estefen's new hotel. It's the most swanky thing Vero has going.

The Wedding

The wedding and the preparations. Eloise practiced her flower girl walk over and over again. Alex, Pops, and I even got to walk the aisle. She kept at it even after the ceremony. It was really cute to see her enthusiasm.

The ceremony and the happy couple! It was absolutely exquisite!

The family all together!

And after all that fun...Eloise and Nena (or Nana) took a rest.

Pre-Wedding Fun

The beginning of many posts to come! We just returned from Florida after a relaxing 10 day vacation. I have so many great photos and memories to share that they'll be coming to you in bite-sized pieces. We'll start with the fun leading up to Maggie and Tim's wedding.

Grandad absolutely loved our beach location. He swears they shot the Corona beer adds there, they probably didn't, so we decided to shoot one of our own. Here are the men looking good enjoying some cervezas. Don't worry, Eloise had her milk, but she can't resist a photo shoot.

Here we are rehearsing (seriously of course) for the wedding ceremony. It was so much fun being a part of the wedding. Both Alex and Brent read some great selections, and Eloise was the speediest flower girl.

The sunset at the rehearsal dinner. It was a beautiful setting!

Trip to Lex

We headed to Lexington on Sunday after church to celebrate the end of Confirmation/Easter/Christmas/Everything. It was the perfect getaway even if it did rain the entire time. Lexington is always fun and beautiful, rain or shine.

Eloise and Alex posing in front of Lee Chapel. Eloise really liked learning about Traveller.

Eloise decided to streak the campus, like all good Generals that have come before her. :-)

We eagerly ran across the bridge to see the new Wilson Field. Eloise yelled at us, "Come on! Come on!" The bridge reminded her of her favorite Dora episodes and started seeing Dora songs. It was pretty funny, especially as the students walked by.

Eloise did not want to leave Wilson Field. So sad, Eloise!! (What a ham!) It was a fun trip but life continues at home.

Another Josie picture

Meet Josephine Bailey Averitt

Matt and Lauren had another beautiful and healthy baby girl on Friday! We are so thankful!!

Weekend Fun

Eloise is such a diva.

Eloise is quite a hiker! It's one of the most effective ways to tire her out. Long gone are the days of carrying her in a backpack. We went to the Audubon nature preserve, which is a couple miles from our house, and enjoyed the sun, trees, and space to RUN.

Of course we saw deer at the Audubon!

Camp Out

We had a most fantastic time last Saturday at a church camp out. Alex prepared a little service for the group and then we enjoyed dinner and s'mores. Eloise had the greatest time of us all. During the service, Alex asked if anyone wanted to read the gospel. A sweet girl volunteered and then Eloise copied her and said "I will." I whispered to Eloise, "you can do it later," thinking Eloise would forget. Well, about half way through the reading, Eloise gets up, takes the prayer book, and stands next to Lillian pretending to read. Fortunately Lillian stayed calm, finished the reading and sat back down. Eloise followed her. Everyone else was holding back the laughter. It was the cutest thing I'd every seen!

Other cute things--Eloise has been calling me Emily this week. And, she says "gracias" instead of "thank you" sometimes.

In other news, we had our 4th ultrasound yesterday. Yes, most people at this point have only had one, but this little baby likes to keep us on our toes. The doc couldn't hear the heart beat yesterday and was concerned so I stayed and waited 1.5 hours (yes it was a really long wait) for another ultrasound. Turns out the little guy/girl is hanging out in my rear tilted uterus so they couldn't detect him/her. Everything looks great, though. I even got to see him/her jump up. So adorable!

Big News

We've got good news to share! We're expanding our family to 4! The little one is due to arrive on November 8 and we are thrilled to say the least! :-)

Easter Weekend with Molly

Saturday

It rained Saturday. How unfortunate! So we dyed eggs and played with Wii fit together. It was nice and restful.

Sunday

We had a great Easter Sunday. The church service was beautiful, Eloise enjoyed the egg hunt outside, we ate Golden Rod Eggs for brunch (yum), and had a nice dinner at Peggy's in the evening. I also enjoyed a betting victory! I bet Angel Cabrera would win the Masters, and he did! (unfortunately I didn't bet anything)

Monday

Although it was a cool day, we ventured out to Great Falls (national?) Park. It's an impressive water fall on the Potomac river and home to part of the historic C&O Canal Company. We enjoyed the river and and the informative museum. The most exciting part of the park (and the most photogenic) was this hollow tree. We left the Great Falls hungry and found this amazing French bakery. I knew Molly brought her French good fortune with her when she came!