Harlem Globetrotters

On Sunday, we took Finley to see the Harlem Globetrotters take on the Global Select for the World Championship. The show was fun to watch, though I was disappointed that Flight Time and Big Easy from the Amazing Race were not in the game. Maybe I will get to see them next time they come to town. Finley was laughing along with the crowd, dancing and eating lots of snacks.

Happy Birthday, Sydney!

I cannot believe Sydney is already one, time sure is flying!  Sydney had a fantastic party with hot dogs and cake, so Finley was a very happy camper.  And Finley had a blast jumping around in the bouncy house and playing on the swingset.  Aren't birthday parties the best?  Finley sure thinks so.

Let's All Go to the Auto Show!

Clifton took Finley to the Auto show yesterday.  Finley's favorite thing to do was climb all around the new cars.  Luckily, she had a partner in crime, Clifton's co-workers son Owen.

Videos from Vail

The first videos are from Beaver Creek, where Finley did some skiing and some tubing. The next ones are from Vail and the final video is her singing "Happy Birthday" to a polar bear in Vail. Vail had all these snow polar bears all throughout the town and Finley loved discovering them. Ignore my screechy voice!

Finley's First Snowman

The thing Finley was most excited about for our trip to Colorado was building a snowman.  When we arrived, there was very little snow.  Saturday afternoon, that all changed.  While Finley napped, a ton of snow was dumped from the sky.  In the first picture, notice my sad, snow covered rental car.  Let's hope it defrosts by Tuesday.  When Finley woke up from her nap, we headed straight outside to build a snowman.  Colorado snow is much different from the snow I grew up with in Maryland.  It isn't good snow making snow.  Heather helped by shoveling their driveway to get bigger piles of snow, but in the end, our snowman was tiny, but proud.  And Finley gave him a bow...hysterical.  It was impossible to get her to pose for a picture.  She was a machine in the snow, running from side to side, making snowballs, helping build the snowman and just enjoying the snow.  I am guessing she is going to ask her Daddy to move here to Colorado when we get home.  She isn't bothered by the cold in the least and LOVES the snow. We had to force her inside after playing in the dark for awhile. The sun was beginning to set when we first starting the building, but it had been dark for awhile once we finally got her back inside.

Snow Bunny

This post will be quick because we are getting ready to head out for dinner, but I wanted to post two adorable pictures of Finley today.  She had the absolute best time skiing today.  She did not want to leave.  We were on the mountain for over 4 hours and she was in heaven.  Clifton and I both prefer the sand and sun, but Miss Finley loves the snow.  She told me she likes it better here than Disneyworld.  That is high praise from this three year old.  We had to rent her the smallest size skis and boots that they had, which took a bit since the first two places didn't have anything small enough.  She did great in the beginners' area, she didn't have any fear at all.  Just pure love of the snow.  She even skiied down the mountain with Heather, she had a blast.  I skiied down too, so I can attest that it wasn't easy at all and I was scared out of my mind.

Visiting Auntie Hodder in Vail

Yesterday, Finley and I made the trip to Colorado to visit Auntie Hodder (aka my best friend Heather.)  We flew into Denver because plane tickets were $78 roundtrip (score!) and made the drive up to Vail last night.  the first part of the drive was awesome, the middle part was very slow, then I realized why.  ICE.  And lots of it.  It didn't last for too terribly long, but it did make for some nervous driving the rest of the trip.  We made it to Heather's house in time for a snack and then it was off to bed for Finley.  This morning we took a walk around her neighborhood to see snow, but there wasn't much to be seen.  We met one of Heather's friends out for Tumble Tots for the girls to play, then it was off to lunch with Heather's dad and his wife Mary.  Finley had mac n' cheese, so she was thrilled.  Then it began snowing...a lot of snow.  It is nearly pure white out there as I speak.  The plan is to go to Beaver Creek tomorrow morning to have Finley try to ski.  If that goes reasonably well, we will do some snow tubing.

A Visit to the Aquarium

Clifton had off work yesterday, so we took a family day at the Aquarium.  Finley has an annual pass for the Aquarium since her birthday party was held there.  And there are always BOGO coupons available.  So for $15.99, the three of us could ride as many rides as we liked and go through the exhibits.  We also had lunch at the restaurant, Finley is so taken with the fish.  She says the sting rays are smiling and the big fish are sad.  So cute!

While we were having lunch, the manager came over and gave Finley a coupon for a free carnival ride. Was he aware of her incredible aim? Turns out the booth operator wasn't scared either. Our coupon was supposed to get us 8 rings. She gave us a massive handful. Too bad Finley has great aim, but little arm strength. She had fun anyhow!

Finley Says

"Go Texans, beat the Ravens!"

Pretty Girl

With really chapped lips!  This doesn't bode well for our trip to Vail this coming weekend.  Anyone have any good chapped lips remedies?  I try to put Vaseline on them as often as possible, but I haven't noticed any improvement.

Disneyworld: Day Seven

Our last day at Disneyworld was spent at the Magic Kingdom.  Finley and I had a plane to catch that night, but it left for a great morning at the park riding all her favorites.  Disneyworld is such a magical place and I know how much fun she has there.  I remember going to Disneyworld (back when the only park was the Magic Kingdom) and riding Small World with my grandparents.  It really is the happiest place on earth and I am already counting the days until we can return...Grammy's birthday again?  Finley is already asking to eat in the castle again so she can make wishes.

Disneyworld: Day Six

Most of our second to last day at Disney was spent at Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom is a fantastic spot to meet characters and Finley's first request was to meet Mickey and Minnie when we arrived. So we headed over to that area and her wish was granted. After that we headed to Dinoland USA to ride the dinosaurs...again and again and again. We grabbed lunch then got to watch the amazing Finding Nemo show. Then it was over to the safari (with a couple rides of Expedition Everest thrown in) to see some animals. After the safari, we watched the Jammin Jungle Parade. Grammy and Grandad went to go find some tigers, while Finley and I went to meet some more characters. The funniest thing was that there was a speaker near one of the Christmas trees in that area. Finley thought the tree was singing to her and she danced! We headed back for a nap, then it was back to the Magic Kingdom to meet Minnie, Mickey, Aurora, Ariel and Cinderella. While we met the princesses, Grandad saved us a spot to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade. It was a great last night in Disneyworld.

Happy Birthday, Joe!

Joe's birthday party was at Pump It Up again this year.  She had so much fun at his party last year and this year was the same.  And look how much Finley and Max have grown since two years ago.  There were bouncy houses, slides and obstacle courses that Finley was able to complete all on her own.  It is amazing how good she has gotten at things, a lot is owed to gymnastics.  There was delicious cake and pizza to be had and Finley was in heaven.  As per usual, Finley was the last to leave the table...she loves her cake and pizza!

A Visit from Max

If you live in Houston, you know we were hit with massive rains today.  I walked into Kroger this morning after dropping Finley off at school, while I was checking out the storm had gotten very intense.  So intense that the power went out at the grocery store.  I thought it would be best to wait out the rain, but after 10 minutes, I realized it wasn't letting up anytime soon.  I loaded up the car, got totally drenched, drove by Finley's school to make sure they had power, then headed home to dry off.  I got a call from Courtney when I got back home and she had been stranded at an ATM machine in town on the way back from dropping off Max.  I told her I would be happy to pick Max up after school if she was still trapped in the floodwaters, but I never expected that would actually happen.  Turns out...it did!  So Max came over to play this afternoon and Finley was not very pleasant.  She hadn't napped at all during school (shocker) and was just being a pill with him.  He kept asking her to share, it was so sweet, but she wasn't having any of it. Luckily, the floodwaters receded and Courtney was able to rescue Max from the storm that Finley was creating here.

Go Houston Texans!

The Houston Texans defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 31 to 10 today.  We met up with Clifton's co-worker Adam, his wife Allison and their son Owen at our house to walk over to the light rail.  The train was free because it was gameday.  We walked in the stadium just as the teams were being announced, the air was electric and it was the loudest I have ever experienced at Reliant Stadium.  Finley ate a ton during the game, what else is new?  She had fruit snacks, applesauce, cheese crackers, a hot dog and ice cream.  She did really well considering how loud it was in there.  We were in the 2nd row, right near the cannon that is fired whenever the Texans scored.  Our seats also provided great views of Toro, the mascot.  Finley had so much fun cheering for the team and holding up her Go Texans sign.  After the game was over, we headed back over to the train and made the first one (lucky!)  Clifton stayed on the train, he was going to meet his friend J at the Rockets game.  That meant I got to carry tired Finley all the way home.  It was quite a workout, but it was worth it to see such and awesome game.  Two football games in one week, what a lucky little girl.