Our Trip to Disney

was absolutely wonderful! We loved the house that we stayed in too. So much room! It was a lot bigger than we thought it was going to be. Andy and I got a bedroom to ourselves for the first time in almost 2 years. It was nice to have the privacy. Not that I'm complaining that Melina sleeps in our room still. I know that soon enough, she'll be in another room and I will miss having her in our room. Anyway, the kids all loved the house too (and the pool too, although the water was freezing cold). Monday and Tuesday, we spent at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Wednesday, we went to the Animal Kingdom. Thursday, we spent at Hollywood Studios and Friday, we had lunch in Downtown Disney before we hopped back on the road for home. We got home late Saturday night and spent Sunday resting before the return of work and school come Monday morning. It was so nice to have a week to our own immediate little family. It wasn't anymore relaxing, but the kids were calmer, better behaved, Andy and I had time to ourselves at night, and Deidra didn't have near the attitude that she's had lately. Of course, once we got home and the kids saw my Mother-in-Law, the games all started again. I'm having to work hard on my attitude as we're all more than ready to have our own house back again. Hopefully, it won't be much longer. I just need to hang on. However, the week away was wonderful and we were all really happy and enjoyed having fun together. It was a very much needed trip and we made a bunch of magical memories. It was nice to come home to a clean house as well...my Father-in_law cleaned for us and my Mother-in-Law cleaned the little bathrooms and the refrigerator for us too.

The kids favorite rides...
Deidra--Animal Kingdom was her favorite park and she loved the animal safari
Josiah--he loved the Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios
Emma--she loved the Pooh ride at Magic Kingdom
Tracie--she loved the Dumbo ride at Magic Kingdom and we got to ride it on Grand Opening day of a brand new ride
Melina--she loved to ride her "neigh" on the carousel although that was her first ride and she got scared at first until Deidra came and hopped on her horse with her. By the end of it, she was asking to go again and whenever we saw the carousel she would ask to ride it. However, her very favorite thing was at Epcot on the Nemo ride. She loved that aquarium when we got off the ride. She has a pop-up book that she loves to look at of all the water animals and she was thrilled to see them in person. She was saying "wow" at the dolphins and she'd scream when she saw the shark and put her hands up by her face like she does when she looks at her book. I wish I would have thought to get her on video. So cute! She'd see the sea horses and say "neigh" it was too cute.

It was a lot of fun! We are so grateful that we got to go. Thank you, Abba, for keeping us all safe and protected while we were gone too. Amen.

Disney House

We finally got 2010's tax return and we booked our vacation to Disney world for a week over Spring Break in March. We rented a house and found out this morning that it was double booked. They let us know that they had 2 other properties that were still available. We found this one, but it was going to be more money. We liked it a bit better than the one we had originally booked. Andy called to ask them if we could just pay the difference and found out that they weren't going to charge us extra. So, we went ahead and booked it. This is our house for the week we're going to be in FL.

http://www.1stfororlando.net/vacation-rental-home.asp?PageDataID=29660

Disney world here we come!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

We went to Phoenix last month and moved my Mother-in-Law to Texas. She's going to live with us for awhile. She's been here for 3 weeks now. She's been a big help with the kids and it has been good to have her here. Getting to know one another a bit more and things are going well. It's an adjustment, but it's been a good one thus far.

Last week, Andy's Dad also moved to Texas. He's renting an apartment about a mile up the road from us. We got him all moved in and he's been busy unpacking. We are so blessed to have them here with us.

This is the last week of Summer Break...the kids go to meet their teachers on Thursday, so we need to finish up school supply shopping and we need to go clothes shopping too. We've had a busy summer filled with going places, watching movies, making treats, playing in the water, doing crafts, and spending time with one another. I took Deidra to see the Smurf movie a week ago. So cute and it was good! We left Melina home with Grandma this weekend and took the others to Six Flags for the day. Josiah and Emily were very brave riding the roller coasters. Tracie tried them out, but they scared her a bit. They all did great though and we enjoyed the day together. It rained a bit that day too so it wasn't quite as hot as it had been. Texas had 40 days of 100+ heat this summer right in a row. Wow!

Okie-la-homa!

We left Friday morning for Oklahoma. We got up there and checked into our hotel, grabbed some lunch at Denny's and then went to Chickasaw National Park for the rest of the day. The water was polar bear ice cold, but the kids had fun playing in the water. Mom and I sat on the edge and put our legs in. Once our legs were numb we didn't feel them and didn't mind anymore. lol. Andy was walking around being the photographer. We got some dinner at IHOP and the kids scarfed their food down. We headed back to the hotel and got the kids ready for bed. I went across the hall and talked with Deidra and Mom before bed and then headed to bed myself. Mom mentioned to me that she noticed that Josiah has gotten a lot better with his screeching in the car. She had been nervous about riding up there with us, because of the headache that he gave her last year when she rode with us somewhere. I told her that he's definitely gotten better about his screeching and I noticed that he's finally stopped trying to rock his chair in the kitchen when he's upset or he wants something that I told him no about. He is making progress. :-)

Saturday morning at the lovely time of 3:50 am, Little E woke up and I heard her whispering but I was still kinda sleeping so I didn't really get what was going on until she sat up. I told her to lay back down and she proceeded to wake up Josiah. Once he's up, he's up. So, we were all up by 4 am and nothing we tried got them to go back to sleep. We got some rain and so we decided to spend the morning thrift shopping for our ebay business and the kids got to pick out a toy. Then, we went and ate at the Soda Pop Shop...reuben...Mmmm! The kids were picking at their food, so we packed it up to go. We headed for Turner Falls to spend the day. The only parking spots we could find was up top, so we had to take a bus shuttle to the bottom of the hill. Little E flipped out...I put her on my lap and she started gagging herself she was crying so badly. I told her there wasn't anything to be scared of...it was just like riding in a car. I couldn't figure out whether the bus was scaring her or whether it was the bus driver. She gets that way around some people sometimes. Anyway, once the bus started moving, she got over it. We went down and staked out a spot and the kids played in the water, Andy went and explored a cave behind the waterfall, and my Mom took Deidra on a little walk. Little E kept throwing temper tantrum after temper tantrum and she didn't want to listen to anything, she was throwing rocks and when I told her not to and she continued to do it and she saw that I was getting up to put her in time out, she chucked a rock at me. She threw a caniption fit when I made her stand up in time out where she couldn't get her hands on any rocks. People were just staring at her and I just smiled at them. Finally, she settled down and went back to having fun. The rest of the day went much better. Andy told me that once we got back to the hotel for the night, he wanted me to sleep in my Mom's room so that I could get some sleep that night. I was starting to drag as I was so tired. We left Turner Falls to go grab some dinner and Little E did much better on the bus shuttle back up the hill and giggled all the way up. We went to Braum's for dinner and then headed back to the hotel. Got the kids bathed and I took a shower and Andy put them to bed. I headed over to my Mom and Deidra's room and my Mom said I looked like I was ready to drop. We were talking and I promptly fell asleep. The next morning she said she was talking to me and when I didn't answer, she realized I had fallen asleep.

Sunday, we got up around 8 and poor Andy had been awake since 4 with the littles. We were trying to get our stuff all together so we could check out...all the kids were melting down and were into everything. I confiscated the room key from Baby T and asked her to sit down while we finished packing. Josiah was screaming and kicking and throwing a fit. Everytime we tried to redirect Little E she'd scream and then laugh. I finally took them down to get some breakfast while Andy finished up. We realized we were missing a room key and had no idea where it went. One of the kids must have picked it up without us noticing as one minute we had 2 keys and the next we could only find one. Anyway, they were throwing fits in the lobby and throwing their food all over, so I threw their breakfast away and took them back upstairs. We checked out and told the guy we only had one room key. We decided to drive around and decide what we wanted to do and let the kids sleep for awhile. Mom found out that the Shrine of the Holy Infant of Prague was in Oklahoma. We decided to go up there (Prague, OK). We stopped at McDonalds for some breakfast on the way. We got up there and found out it was their 60th anniversary. God draws you to places that's for sure.... Anyway, it was nice to see and I said some prayers for our family and for the girls and for my parents. We went to the gift shop and got a few things and then headed for home. Little E was being VERY defiant the whole day, so she really was difficult to handle that day. My Mom was a bit shocked at how she was acting. I told her she finally got to see the real Little E lately. Once we got up by my Mom's we stopped for dinner at On the Border, dropped my Mom off at home, and then headed for home. It was so nice to finally be home and get to sleep in our own comfy beds. I had a really upset stomach when we got home, although I think it was from not sleeping all that well. It was fun to get away though. Everybody had a good time!

And we're off...

we're spending a few days at Turner Falls and we are leaving this morning. I think the get away will do us good. My Mom is going with us. I pray that we all have a good time and that the weather cooperates and that everyone gets along.

Spring Break

Well, we made it to Michigan for spring break. It was hectic with 4 kids and now I think I need a vacation from our vacation. We all had a good time. We left Friday around 2 pm and drove all the way there. We got to my father-in-laws about 10:30 am. The kids were into everything and we were exhausted. We took it easy on Saturday and just hung out with Dad. Sunday, Uncle Rog and Aunt Lee came over and we visited with them for awhile and then their daughter, Jamie and her husband, Jim came over. It was nice to see everybody and spend a couple of hours visiting.

Monday, we had a playdate with my friend Cindi from Chicago and her little boy, Charlie at the McDonalds in Jenison. It was great to see her again. Her youngest, Ben, was at home sick with Grandma and since I never got to meet him and we were planning on going to the mall to see Andy's cousin, Melissa, we decided to stop by there. I took a huge fall at her house (and I was holding Baby J) and I was humiliated and embarrassed. I so didn't see a strip of wood that she had going across one of the rooms and as I was trying to step to the side so that Andy and the girls could get into the house I lost my balance and fell over it onto my back. Baby J landed on top of me. Andy said I just missed hitting my head on her marble table. I'm just thankful I didn't break anything as I'm sure the decor in that room wasn't cheap. I'm glad that I got to meet Ben too! After that, we went to Rivertown the see Melissa at work. It was great to see her again. She's getting married Labor Day weekend. When we were driving home, Racheal called. She was too excited that we were there and couldn't wait to see me (we had plans to go over there Tuesday night) and asked if we could stop over for awhile. So, we wound up going over there for a couple of hours. It was a great time! Her girls have gotten so big! Deidra spent the night over there with the girls and she was in all her glory.

Tuesday, we woke up and found out that Deidra had stayed up until 4:30 that morning giggling and talking with the girls. I told Racheal they were going to be just like we used to be and Racheal said that's what she was thinking too. Rach and I have been friends sine 7th grade and I can go months without talking to her and yet when we talk again, it's just like we talked yesterday. I have a friendship with her that I don't think I could ever have with someone else. We've always wondered if the girls would have the same closeness that we have. We went and visited Andy's Aunt Lori for a few hours and then we went over to have dinner with Racheal, Tony, her Mom, and her girls. We hang out that night and the kids all played together outside. Rach cooked hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, cole slaw, and baked beans for dinner and it was all so yummy. It was kind of neat to watch the girls all playing altogether. I thought Deidra was going to cry when she had to tell the girls good-bye and Andy thought Abby was going to cry when she hugged Deidra good-bye. I guess when we left, Abby did cry. Makes my heart break.... they are talking about writing each other letters though and Deidra has asked if she can start calling them once or twice a month. I told her I think we could probably find time to do that.

Wednesday, we took the kids to the Children's Museum which was a lot of fun, and then we took them out to Grand Haven to see Lake Michigan. They all loved seeing the beach and all the water, but we didn't stay long as it was so cold. We stopped by to see my Grandpa after that and it was good to see him again. He's not so sturdy on his feet anymore which was hard for me to see. The kids got kind of rowdy too so Andy and Deidra took them out to the van and I stayed for a few more minutes to talk to Grandpa and Rose before I headed out. I cried a few tears after we left. We went back to Andy's Dad's house and had dinner and Little E wound up breaking one of his lamps. We put the kids to bed and Andy and I decided to go up to Grand Rapids Brewing Company for a drink together and we stopped at Meijer's to buy his Dad new lamp shades to make up for Little E breaking the lamp shades. His Dad was mad that we bought them but whatever. It's the least we could do...

Thursday, we went and got new tires for the van and then went to lunch with Andy's Dad to Culver's. After that, he drove me down to Racheal's so that I could spend the day with her. We took Jackie (her youngest) to the ENT and then brought her back to her Mom so we could go have a Mommy's Night Out. It was a much needed night out and we had a blast. We went to Rivertown for some clothes shopping as Rach needed more spring stuff. Then, we went to On the Border for margaritas and dinner. Mmm! After that, we wound up looking for a Nextel store for a replacement part for her hubby's phone and then we wound up at Starbucks. We got kicked out as they were closing and we didn't know what else to do. She was driving me back to Lowell and I was 3/4th of the way home and she said that she didn't want to say good-bye just yet and asked if Lowell had a bar where we could sit and talk. I said they did, but when we went back to go there the bar was already closed. Her sister-in-law called us back as we were trying to find a karaoke place to go to earlier and the place I remembered, Racheal thought had closed. Racheal talked with her and found out that the place still existed, it had just moved. So, we drove back into Grand Rapids and went to the Village Inn for drinks and karaoke. We had a blast and her sister-in law, Debbie, and her other aunt-in-law who is really probably closer to another sister-in-law, Kim met us there. It was fun and I giggled and giggled. Rach kept getting me drinks as she was the one driving me home and I kept looking at her as I only ever have one drink. She got 4 drinks down me that day. lol. Anyway, she finally got me home around 2 and it was hard to tell her good-bye.

Friday, we got up and went to go get the brakes fixed...we thought it was only going to take about an hour. They had a mishap with getting our parts there and so we had to sit there for about 4 hours. I was pissed. But, what can you do? It wrecked our plans though as I was going to go to my old Home Depot and to the one that Andy's Dad works at as he works with a girl I used to work with at Cracker Barrell. Then, we were going out to the cemetary to put flowers on my Mom and Grandma's graves. However, with the brakes taking so long we didn't get to do that. Andy's cousin, Jamie, wound up coming to pick up Deidra to take her out to lunch and Deidra really enjoyed that. They brought her to Culvers. She really misses Melissa and Jamie so I'm glad that she got to go do that with her. Anyway, we wound up going back to Andy's Dads so that the kids could take a nap and I could lay down for a bit as I was going off of 3-4 hours of sleep at that point. When we got up, it was time for Playworld. Some people that I used to work with at Home Depot came, along with some of my family, and Andy's friend, Joey, who he used to date in high school. I really liked her...she's been through a lot sicne then...she got in an accident after high school while riding a horse...she hit a tree...spent 7 weeks in a coma, went through a lot of rehab and therapy, and my heart just goes out to her. She's a beautiful person, really sweet, and is married with 4 kids now. I looked at her accident pictures and I just wanted to cry. I can't even imagine what all that she's been through. Ok, I'll admit that I was a bit jealous too as I know how Andy used to feel about her. But, I was all good once I met her. She's very sweet. We hung out there and let the kids all play together for 4 hours and Deidra was thrilled that she got to see her cousins. It was a fun time!

Saturday, we packed up to leave after eating breakfast. Andy's Dad made us french toast...it was yummy. I can't remember the last time that I've even eaten french toast. My Grandma used to make the yummiest french toast ever...I've never had any even close to how good hers was. I can't eat french toast without thinking of hers. Anyway, We got back home around 6:30 am on Sunday morning. It was a great trip!

Some things that I am very grateful for...

That Andy had a good review at work.
That Deidra got all As and Bs on her report card.
That my Dad's surgery went well.
That I have great friends who believe in me.
That I get to go on vacation next Friday to MI and see family and friends that I haven't seen in almost 3 years.

I want a pygmy goat...

We went to a Wildlife Ranch while on vacation and it was so neat. The animals roamed freely and came up to your car so you could see them and they'd let you feed them and so forth. Having zebras eat out of your hands and put their heads in your cars...well I thought it was the coolest thing. Anyway, they had a little petting zoo with goats for the kids and I held a baby goat and he just snuggled right up to me. When we were done, I had to go back in to say good-bye to my goat...I just thought he was too cute. Anyway, ever since then I've been reading about pygmy's and I told Andy that I want one. A couple sites that I found said that you can house train them where they'll either do their business outside if you train them to go to the door or you can litter train them with straw and they do just fine if they're young enough. I just want one.... Deidra does too. :-)

We're back from vacation!

We got back in last night (Wednesday) around 11:30 pm. We're tired, but we had a ton of fun!! I'll have pictures later! We did so much stuff....

Monday we got up early and drove to Sea World. We got there around 11 am and spent the whole day there. We left around 9 pm and went and checked into our hotel and then went to IHOP for dinner where the kids got the Horton Hears a Who pancakes and green eggs and ham.

Tuesday we planned on going to the San Antonio zoo, but it was rainy. So, we headed into the downtown area and took the kids to the Children's museum, walked up to see the Alamo, and then we went down to see the Riverwalk. We went and ate at Marie Callendar's restaurant for lunch (sooo good). Then we drove around awhile before we decided to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese.

Wednesday, we went to the San Antonio zoo and then we headed over to a wildlife refuge where we went on our very own safari and got to handfeed the zebras and all the other wildlife...they'd stick their heads into your car to get to the food. It was totally awesome! We have so many cool pictures from that too! After that, we grabbed some dinner at Jack in the Box before driving home. I'll have pictures to share hopefully in awhile...we took over 600 pics while on vacation. Wow! It was a lot of work taking 4 kids on vacation...I honestly think being in the hotel was the hardest part with them screaming, crying, jumping all over, and just getting bored...it was hard to keep them quiet and to understand that there were people surrounding us in other rooms. Now, we need a vacation from our vacation.

We're leaving for vacation early tomorrow morning...

We're off to San Antonio tomorrow morning to begin our spring vacation! We're taking the kids to Sea World (we're all SO excited about going). And then we are going to the San Antonio Zoo. We're talking about maybe going to the caves too, but we're not sure. We had also talked about going to the Alamo. We know we want to do a couple other things too, but we haven't decided on exactly what we're going to do. We'll figure that out later tonight, I guess, or maybe when we're down there. I can't wait though to get down there and the weather is supposed to be in the 70s and 80s while we're down there. It is supposed to be stormy and rainy though, so I hope the rain will hold off until after we're done with our activities.

Prayers for Baby D...

He hasn't been feeling the greatest ever since he woke up this morning. Poor baby came down with the flu this afternoon and started throwing up. You can tell that he just feels miserable. I pray that he feels better soon and that the rest of the household avoids getting it. I don't want anyone getting sick when we're due to go on vacation next week. Sea World here we come!

On the Road Again

I used the road signs from the On the Road kit that I found a long time ago online. Unfortunately, that was back when I didn't save who made the kits, so I don't know who made it.

Feeding the Hummingbirds

I used the Secret Garden kit and the filmstrip is from Scrapbook Flair.

El Encanto

This one I did with a Quick Page from Scrapbook with Suze' Spring Break kit.

Bowling

I used MMCs Bowling Fun kit for this one.

Squaw Peak

I used USCs Arizona Sunset Kit for the embellishments and Creative Victorian's Arizona Fantasy Papers and stone.

The Desert Botanical Gardens

I used the contemporary kit at Scrapbook Flair and the cactus is from USC's Arizona Sunset kit.

The Praying Monk

I used Creative Victorian's Arizona Fantasy kit for this one.

Mini Golf Paradise

Paper and bow is from Shabby Princess. THe golf ball and player is from Scrapbook Flair.

This was my layout for Saturday...however I never got around to posting it.

Phoenix Zoo

I used Jamie Rousselle's Doing the Zoo kit for this one and MMCs Wacky Zoo alphabet as well. This one was a lot of fun to make.

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