July 2012

July started out with a 4th of July celebration at Grancie's. Brett had a little time off before he started his new job, so we spent a few days out at the "Ridge" in Dallas.  Crew couldn't get enough of riding on the tractor, the golf cart, fishing with his dad, and just hanging out with everyone. It was so great to spend time with family and enjoy the holiday! We also made a trip to Dallas Aquarium, what a neat place! My cousin Mike and his wife Whitney, welcomed a sweet baby girl- Kennedy Gracyn. We drove to Plano for the day and got to meet her too- what a treat! =)

Crew's favorite- a ride on Grancie's tractor!

And Bella likes to follow them the whole ride!

Fishing in the pond with daddy and Bella.

Brett waiting for the fish to bite...

 

Adorable 4th of July table. Good job Grancie! =)

 

So cute and festive!

 

I have to thank Pinterest for this inspiration-

the chocolate dipped strawberries actually turned out cute (and tasted yummy too)!

 

 



A ride on the golf cart with daddy and Aunt Julie!

 

 Aunt Sandy and Grancie

 



Such a good picture- Uncle David and Aunt Sandy

 

Crew and Aunt Julie

 

Grancie, Uncle Jim, Grandma, Brett, Me,

Crew, Uncle David and Aunt Sandy

(thanks Aunt Julie for taking the pic...sorry)

 

Happy 4th of July!

 

God Bless America!

 

Cheese!

 

Silly Crew- he was all done with pictures, ha!

 

Kisses from Gigi!

 

Aunt Sandy showed Crew how the top went down on her convertible.

Crew has not stopped talking about "Aunt Sandy's Black Racecar" since then!

 We hear about EVERYday, ha!

Grancie found some of Brett's old toys and Crew LOVED them!

 

Trip to the Dallas Aquarium.

Look at all the fish!

And check out this big shark!

 

 

Whitney and adorable Kennedy Gracyn!

 

 

 

The next weekend I traveled back to Austin for a girls weekend. Me and three of my good friends and sorority sisters from college had planned a girls trip a few months back.  The best part of the whole weekend was just getting to catch up with everyone and enjoy some relaxing girl time! We stayed at Barton Creek Resort, went shopping, got pedicures, ate lots of good food, and stayed up late talking... Pure bliss! What a wonderful blessing it is to have such amazing friends.

 Love you Ashley, Courtney, and Valerie!

 

Beautiful Barton Creek

Pedicure time!

 

 



All ready for dinner!

Me, Ashley, Courtney, and Valerie.

Courtney and I's duedates are exactly one week apart.

(although I am 3 times bigger than her- ha!)

Hunter Neal is due Oct 11 and Cambrie Grace is due Oct 18.

 

Valerie and Ashley

 

Beautiful view from our dinner at Steiner Ranch Steakhouse.

(oh how I miss Austin already....)

 

 

The girls at Steiner Ranch Steakhouse.

 

** I had to add in this picture- this was from our last girls weekend trip in 2008**

We only wish Lindsay could have been here to celebrate this year with us too.

We kept talking about how important it is to cherish the friendships you have.
Lindsay, we were blessed to have a friend like you and miss you everyday.

 

 

Once we got back to Houston we enjoyed an outing with Preston and Amy at the Children's Museum, celebrated Beckett's 1st birthday, and took Crew to his first musical- The Lion King. To top it all off, we decided to build a new house- so, we spent time selecting all the finishes and getting things organized. It was a spec house, but when we found it the only thing done was the foundation, so we got to pick out everything except for exterior brick and stone.  But- since this is our 3rd house to build, I would say we are pretty much pros, so don't mess with the Carsons, ha!=) No really, this better be the last one for a LONG time!

The only pic we could get of Crew and Preston together.

They loved painting!=)

Crew cooking in the diner!

 

 

 Sweet Beckett turned 1! It was so much fun being able to celebrate his big day!

Jessica did an amazing job on his party with the "little man" theme.

Everything was absolutely over the top and soo cute!

These pics are from the photo booth.

(the birthday boy with his mommy and daddy and sister Ardyn)

 

Mustaches and bow ties- so cute!

 

Pin the bow tie on Beckett.

(and look at Ardyn- her dress was made out of one of her daddy's old button down shirts, so cute)

 

All the guests went home with a "tie" shirt as their party favor.

 

Crew loved the Lion King! It was awesome!

Thanks Mimi and Papa for such a special treat!=)

 

And... construction our new Houston house started to move REALLY fast!

Bella's Surgery

Well, it's been a bit of a rough week here at the Carson house. Crew went to the dr on Tuesday after a 103 fever the night before- he has Croup and boy is it yucky! He finished all his meds and is still not quite up to par so we are going back to the doctor this afternoon. I had a fever and went to the doctor yesterday- I have an upper respitory infection. So, today I am felling a little better so time to bust out the Lysol and CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN to get these yucky germs out! Hopefully Brett won't get it! Praying we are on the end of this sickness bug going around.

To top it off our poor Bella had surgery on Monday. She tore her ACL and Miniscus (sp?) so it's been a rough week for her. She spent one night in the hopsital and we picked her up Tuesday. The procedure went well- they had to shave her leg, a part on her other leg for her IV, and a spot on her back so they could giver her an epidural (yep- dogs can get those too.) She has about 25 staples, and they will stay in for 2 weeks. She has to keep the "cone" on for the 2 weeks so she won't lick the wound and cause it to get infected. She is also confined to a small area/cage for the next 8 weeks. This should be a little tough since she is still a little rambunctious.
I think she is wondering why we are putting her through this pain- BUT it is only because we love her and want her to be here to run and play for many many more years. Pets are part of your family and it is so hard to see her hurting and in pain.
Today was the first day she put a tiny bit of weight on her leg when I took her out to go to the bathroom on her leash. Recovery will be tough but hoping she is on the mend.
Praying for a safe and quick recovery for sweet Bella- she is so strong and working so hard. Give her a few months and she will be back out playing "bumper" with her yellow lab buddy across the street, Cody. We love you Bella! (for the mean time we will keep giving you your pain meds to help take away some of your pain.)

Poor Bella with her "cone" and shaved leg.

Hoping she continues to gain strength everyday.

FURminator

As most of you know we have a dog. Not just any dog, but a big 80 lb black lab. This is funny to all my friends since I was scared of dogs growing up. My parents got a minature yorkie when I went to college, and I was scared of him too (I mean a 5 lb little dog?). I had to take him to the vet for my parents one time when I was home from college and made the receptionist come out to the car to pick him up! Ha! Ok, so enough about that!

But now I am much more open to animals, and I LOVE my dog Bella! She sheds like no other. Just looking at her you would never think that. My Dyson Animal is FULL everyday(yes I vacuum everyday) of black dog hair. I kept seeing the furminator at the pet store, but I wondered if it really worked or was worth all the money.
Since we are moving into a brand new house in a few months, it would be so nice NOT to fill it with dog hair. So, we got the furminator and decided to try it. Brett took Bella outside and combed her for about 15 minutes. She didn't run away, she actually liked it! And I think she lost about 10 lbs, she looks so much skinnier. So, if you are wondering, the furminator DOES work and is AWESOME! We collected so much hair! I think I have a new weekly duty.... furminating Bella! Oh, and maybe I can just vacuum every other day instead of EVERYDAY! Wouldn't that be nice!
Here's a video of how it works:
FURMINATOR

Just SOME of the fur the FURminator took off!