Fabulous Army Life

Butterbeer from Universal Orlando Island of Adventure "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" Since we enjoyed visiting Hogsmeade in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter so much, the boys and I decided to try own own butterbeer recipe.  There are dozens of recipe options online but we chose one of the simplest.  We made a few minor modifications ... so here is our version of Recipe #3 from Harry Potter: Top 10 Butterbeer Recipes ! Ingredients: 12 oz. cream soda 1/4 cup butterscotch syrup 1/2 tablespoon butter Directions: Measure butterscotch and butter into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 60-90 seconds or until syrup is bubbly and butter is completely melted. Stir and cool for 30 seconds. Slowly mix in club soda. Mixture will fizz quite a bit. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve. This is a sugary-sweet drink to be enjoyed in moderation.  Joshua only drank one mug before his sugar meter topped out.  Trey had two full mugs and would have...

Trey is ready to test. He repeats words and clicks the button when he hears 'beeps.' Since Trey had his third tympanoplasty in November, it was time for him to see the audiologist at Darnall to check his hearing.  I am convinced that having a book in his hand is much more detrimental to his hearing than surgical procedures on his eardrums, but it was time to test regardless. The audiologist was fabulous with him, answering his string of questions and making him feel right at home in the tiny, sound-proof, dark, enclosed room where he tested.  It turns out that his hearing is normal in both ears!  We are so thankful that his hearing has not been adversely affected by the surgeries.  His right ear (which all three surgeries were performed on) shows slightly less hearing than his left, but is well within the normal range ... and is typical for a surgical ear. As we were leaving, we saw Trey's Otolaryngologist (which is one of Trey's favorite people AND one ...

I confess that I have seriously backslidden as a blogger.  ~ Is 'backslidden' a word? ~ but I am excited to get back and post some of the fun things we've experience on our recent Block Leave.  Stay tuned!

Danny and Rachel's golden retriever, Zoe, had a litter of 8 adorable puppies in early March. She was bred with a standard poodle for a batch of beautiful Golden Doodles! After church today, all the Cook cousins were able to see these three-week-old little bundles of puppy joy. It was a fun afternoon for everyone, puppies included! Hannah and me with one of the new puppies.  Joshua and Lizzie with two black puppies. Trey Aunt Carole Ann with Emma and a puppy. Abby Carter Brody 8 new puppies for 8 little cousins Zoe is a proud momma. Exhausted puppies after an afternoon of play! If you're interested in these puppies or the breeder of golden doodles, the website is: Snicker's Doodles .

The Cook cousins spent the night together camping in Gram and Granddad's backyard.  They had a great time putting the tent together and spending the evening giggling and telling stories before falling to sleep late into the night.  Good memories for some super-sweet kids! How many cousins does it take to set up a tent?  The girls are getting it done! Joshua is experienced with putting this tent together.  Trey stands ready with the mallet.  The tent goes up!  Abby, Hannah, and Emma are ready for bed.  Joshua, Lizzie, and Carter Trey and Brody

Day Four of our Spring Break trip was spent at Disney's EPCOT Center. We were at near-exhaustion from three full days of previous fun, but still managed to have a super day.  We watched The Seas with Nemo and Friends , spent some time in the Imagination! Pavilion, and experienced three of our all-time favorite rides here.  The first was Mission: SPACE , a motion simulator ride that is as close as you can get to blasting off into space without leaving Earth. It realistically mimics what an astronaut might experience during a space flight to Mars.  Each member of our astronaut team had a role in a daring cosmic mission dodging meteors and navigating nebulae.  After the attraction, we visited the Mission: SPACE Advanced Training Lab, an interactive play space where we competed in Mission: SPACE Race, an arcade-style game. Our second favorite ride was Soarin' , a multisensory attraction that simulates a peaceful hang-gliding flight over California, in free flight f...

Cooks and Corsons, together again. The very best part of our day was meeting up with some wonderful friends at Animal Kingdom!  The Corsons were our next-door neighbors at Fort Hood for a couple of years and we survived a deployment together, complete with sharing meals, kids, frustrations, joys, and time.  In the Army, your neighbors are not just the people you nod to as you get into your car in the mornings, they become family. In our time together, Catty watched my kids, listened to my woes, and took care of everything from shoe-tying to diaper-changing for my kids when I sprained my wrist while our husbands were gone.  In return, her kids were always welcome in my home and spent more than one Friday night eating pizza and watching movies with us.  When my water pipes burst that deployment winter, she was there with me, fighting the raging fountain of water, clad in our pajamas.  On the first day of school, we shared a traditional school bus cake (her ...

Day Three was another fabulous experience in Orlando. Since both of my boys are nature/science/animal lovers, this park was a no-brainer for us. Entering Animal Kingdom First Stop:  The Boneyard The boys loved The Boneyard! Trey was thrilled to be chosen as the volunteer in "Birds of Wonder." Birdwatching with Dad

On Day Two, we headed over to Universal Studios Orlando for another fun-packed day in Orlando. We loved Shrek in 4D and Cat in the Hat story ride but our all-time favorite of the day was E.T. Adventure where we got to experience E.T. including riding our bikes over the town with E.T.! It was a lot of fun. Trey and Nate enjoyed Jaws and Twister: Ride It Out and we all had fun in Men In Black: Alien Attack. We watched Beetlejuice's Graveyard Review and went to the Blues Brothers Chicago-Style street party. We all enjoyed the Animal Actors show, meeting some famouse animal actors. Interestingly, the boys' favorite area was Fievel's Playground where all the toys were huge and oversized (giving us a mouse's perspective). There were no lines and the boys could just run and play freely. I'm sure there's an object lesson in there somewhere, but there is no time to ponder now. Off to more fun ... Nate and boys at Universal Studios Orlando. Yes, Trey did...