Tuesday, August 18, 2009
First Two Days of School
James and Kaitlyn started school this week. James got to go on Monday and Kaitlyn went today.
James first day went off without a hitch. I didn't expect any problems, and didn't have any either. :) He said he had a lot of fun! Big surprise. Ha.
My sweet baby girl. It was her first day of school EVER. I was nervous about dropping Kaitlyn off at school today, but James and I talked to her the whole time we were on our way there. I asked James to tell Kaitlyn that a teacher would come get her out of the car and walk her to her classroom. She seemed to be okay with it, and to my surprise, there were NO tears when I dropped her off. I think it has helped by her see James go all last year and then me explaining the drop off process to her about 10 times. I didn't cry either. Ha. I was almost teary-eyed after I drove through the loop to pick her up. She looked so happy, and she's such a big girl now!
My only problem I have with the pick up situation at the school is now I have to wait through two carpool lines. One to pick up James since he waits on the side of the school, and one for Kaitlyn, since she waits on the carpool loop. Sigh. Last year they had major traffic issues with the Winter Park police department threatening to shut down the school if they didn't do something about the traffic jam at pick up time. Their solution was to put kids on different sides of the school... Pre-K and K on the North side, and 3's and under on the carpool loop side. Whatever. I'll deal with it. I love that school so much, I'll sit in traffic twice a week for 20 minutes. :)
James on Monday, his official first day of school at the Methodist School!
James sits with Kaitlyn for a photo of her first day of school EVER at The Methodist School for Early Education.
James first day went off without a hitch. I didn't expect any problems, and didn't have any either. :) He said he had a lot of fun! Big surprise. Ha.
My sweet baby girl. It was her first day of school EVER. I was nervous about dropping Kaitlyn off at school today, but James and I talked to her the whole time we were on our way there. I asked James to tell Kaitlyn that a teacher would come get her out of the car and walk her to her classroom. She seemed to be okay with it, and to my surprise, there were NO tears when I dropped her off. I think it has helped by her see James go all last year and then me explaining the drop off process to her about 10 times. I didn't cry either. Ha. I was almost teary-eyed after I drove through the loop to pick her up. She looked so happy, and she's such a big girl now!
My only problem I have with the pick up situation at the school is now I have to wait through two carpool lines. One to pick up James since he waits on the side of the school, and one for Kaitlyn, since she waits on the carpool loop. Sigh. Last year they had major traffic issues with the Winter Park police department threatening to shut down the school if they didn't do something about the traffic jam at pick up time. Their solution was to put kids on different sides of the school... Pre-K and K on the North side, and 3's and under on the carpool loop side. Whatever. I'll deal with it. I love that school so much, I'll sit in traffic twice a week for 20 minutes. :)
James on Monday, his official first day of school at the Methodist School!
James sits with Kaitlyn for a photo of her first day of school EVER at The Methodist School for Early Education.Wii Tennis Videos
Watch this video of James playing Wii Tennis. It's so funny! He just keeps swinging and whaddyaknow... he hits the ball! Sometimes... :) Nevermind the tantrum by Miss Kaitlyn.
Narration by Kaitlyn: :)
Sunday, August 16, 2009
It's a school night!
James starts school tomorrow! He will be in Mrs. Roach's class with a few friends that he's had before in his classes. Walker, Jacob, and Sarah were in his 3s class, and his friend Ryan had been his twos class. I'm hesitant only because he'll be going a lot more this year. Last year he went 3 days a week, and this year he'll be going all 5 days. On Wednesday, and maybe Monday, he'll be staying for "Afternoon Enrichment" and will be introduced to Spanish. He is on the waiting list for the class on Monday, which is Drama. Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit all know that James is supposed to be in Drama at some point in his lifetime, so hopefully this will be his entrance.
This afternoon, while Kaitlyn was taking her nap, James decided to ask us: "You know what we haven't had in a very long time?" Pause... "Candy!" Nathan and I had a pretty good chuckle at that, but laughed even harder when he asked Daddy if he knew what was inside the M&M he was eating. He bit into one and showed Nathan and said, "Candy!" We laughed more and told him that it was actually chocolate.
I decided to take the kids shopping this afternoon, so at 3 PM when Kaitlyn still wasn't awake from her nap, I went upstairs to wake her up. Apparently the monitors were off, I had turned one off due to some majorly annoying interference from the neighbors somewhere, and Nathan had turned off the one in the bedroom when he slept in this morning. So, when I went up there, and had thought she was still sleeping, she was not. In fact, when I went into her room, she told me, "Changed my diaper, Mommy." Huh? I didn't really get it... and she was pointing down in between where her bed butts up to the wall and the wall. There is about a 1.5 inch gap that is impossible to get rid of due to the wood frame that holds the mattress. I, stupidly, for a minute, thought that she was asking me to change her diaper, when in fact, she had done what she had said she did. She had taken her diaper off, and smashed it down through the crack and on to the floor. I about panicked when I went to "change" her and found a bare bottom under her dress. Thank GOODNESS she hadn't gone to the bathroom at ALL. Whew. That could have been tragic.
James really didn't want to go shopping today, and told me that he didn't want to go. He's been playing with his "Rescue Pack" (from Go Diego Go) a lot lately, and he decided that it would be fun for Rescue Pack to go with us in the car (cringe). Rescue Pack sings. Yes, sings... a very annoying song that most mothers (especially Aunt Beth :) ) can't stand. So... I figured, whatever... if he's happy with Rescue Pack and he'll go shopping then so be it. Pick your battles. BUT, then I told him, "James, if you bring Rescue Pack in the car, you can't play his song while I'm driving because it'll distract me, okay?" He nodded, no problem with that, he understood.
I got the car started and the kids strapped in, and when I sat in the driver's seat ready to put my seat belt on, James pushed Rescue Pack's button and he started his annoying song. I looked back at James and he said, "We're not driving yet so I can play the song." OOOOOH NO. He's already turning into his FATHER! :)
We started our shopping at Babies R Us, no big deal, got some diapers and some new jammies that were on clearance for the kids. Then we hiked over to Old Navy (with the kids in the Babies R Us cart, because I don't care), and shopped for a while there for new clothes for ME. Not them. I was able to pull off having them in the cart for a while, until James wanted go see the doggie with the button. ??? I don't know... but we did find a doggie on a bench with a button that you push and he talks. Good memory, James.
They were troopers the whole way through, and I even had them looking at books when I was in the dressing room trying on clothes. Everything was great, really. So when James was begging me to be able to get a toy out of the "bubble gum" style machine, I said yes and gave them both a quarter. Thankfully, they had two kinds of machines. One was the kind that sold the really small things that are chocking hazards, and the other had bouncy balls. Perfect! I thought.
As soon as I told James he could get one, he was pointing at the orange one saying that he wanted that one. I tried to explain the "unpredictability" of the whole thing and then just pulled the Mrs. Wilhite line (teacher of 3s at Methodist). I told them "You get what you get and you don't cry a bit." James went first, put his quarter in and turned the knob and out came a blue bouncy ball! So exciting! Little did we know that when Kaitlyn would take her turn she'd get GREEN of all colors. Oh NO. Kaitlyn surprised me and asked James if he wanted the green one, and when he said yes and thank you, Kaitlyn decided that she didn't really want the blue one. So then she threw it and it bounced away about 10 feet into a corner. Sigh. I thought we were going to have a tantrum but Kaitlyn actually got a hold of herself and was happy with the blue ball. Whew.
As if I thought I hadn't had enough, I took the kids to Dillard's after that so I could take advantage of the Estee Lauder bonus gift. Silly me, I even picked up a few dresses to try on. After I had paid for my stuff at the Estee Lauder counter, I hauled the kids back to the dressing room to try on the dresses.
It's amazing what kids find to entertain themselves while in the dressing room with Mommy. James found one of those sticky papers from the lint roller on the floor and was treating it like it was the best toy you could find EVER. So naturally, Kaitlyn wanted it. There was a struggle, there was crying, there was a bit of screaming, and there was a naught spot time out for Kaitlyn. All in all, 10 minutes later, out we walked with no new dresses for Mommy, and a sticky piece of paper... oh, and a bag full of Estee Lauder goodies. :)
I just realized that I've been in a bad habit of waiting for lots of things to write about before I blog, so they are getting a bit long. Oops. Sorry. I hope no one cares.
Now that the kids were hungry and I had gotten my goodies from Dillard's, I figured that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if the kids and I got some dinner while we were out. Nathan was out watching the golf tourney anyway, so he wasn't home. I asked James what he wanted for dinner and he said, "Pizza!" Of course.
There is a Pizza Hut really close to the mall that we had been to, so we headed over there. In my head I was envisioning the old style pizza restaurant that had the big buffet of pizza, a huge salad bar for those watching their weight (ahem), a lot of kids with their parents and lots of laughter and fun had by all. Boy was I wrong. Times have changed.
There was one waiter for the entire restaurant that was about the size of the smallest McDonald's you've ever seen. There was NO salad bar, no pizza buffet, and to top it all off, WEIRD poor trashy people. Ha ha.
We sat next to a table of 6. There was one father with two older sons. The oldest son smelled like big cigarette and was with a girlfriend who had REALLY bad teeth, blue hair, a baseball cap and a necklace with a skull on it. The "middle" child, a boy about the age of 12, looked exactly like his father, surprisingly very cute, but at one point slapped the older brother in the head. The "youngest" was a little sweet skinny little baby named Destiny. Clearly the baby daddy was the daddy of them all, but the woman was no way old enough to be the mother of the other two boys. At one point, while my kids were coloring and playing with their papers, I looked over to the daddy (wearing a Mt. Dew shirt) who was letting the baby suck on a straw full of soda. SICK. I mean really, people... what are you THINKING? The worst part is that the whole time I was there I was worried that they were looking at ME and judging ME because my kids were talking loudly and not sitting still. Oh how distorted.
Oh, and when we got our Thin and Crispy pizza, it was cold. Awesome.
I had better get to bed... it's a school night!
This afternoon, while Kaitlyn was taking her nap, James decided to ask us: "You know what we haven't had in a very long time?" Pause... "Candy!" Nathan and I had a pretty good chuckle at that, but laughed even harder when he asked Daddy if he knew what was inside the M&M he was eating. He bit into one and showed Nathan and said, "Candy!" We laughed more and told him that it was actually chocolate.
I decided to take the kids shopping this afternoon, so at 3 PM when Kaitlyn still wasn't awake from her nap, I went upstairs to wake her up. Apparently the monitors were off, I had turned one off due to some majorly annoying interference from the neighbors somewhere, and Nathan had turned off the one in the bedroom when he slept in this morning. So, when I went up there, and had thought she was still sleeping, she was not. In fact, when I went into her room, she told me, "Changed my diaper, Mommy." Huh? I didn't really get it... and she was pointing down in between where her bed butts up to the wall and the wall. There is about a 1.5 inch gap that is impossible to get rid of due to the wood frame that holds the mattress. I, stupidly, for a minute, thought that she was asking me to change her diaper, when in fact, she had done what she had said she did. She had taken her diaper off, and smashed it down through the crack and on to the floor. I about panicked when I went to "change" her and found a bare bottom under her dress. Thank GOODNESS she hadn't gone to the bathroom at ALL. Whew. That could have been tragic.
James really didn't want to go shopping today, and told me that he didn't want to go. He's been playing with his "Rescue Pack" (from Go Diego Go) a lot lately, and he decided that it would be fun for Rescue Pack to go with us in the car (cringe). Rescue Pack sings. Yes, sings... a very annoying song that most mothers (especially Aunt Beth :) ) can't stand. So... I figured, whatever... if he's happy with Rescue Pack and he'll go shopping then so be it. Pick your battles. BUT, then I told him, "James, if you bring Rescue Pack in the car, you can't play his song while I'm driving because it'll distract me, okay?" He nodded, no problem with that, he understood.
I got the car started and the kids strapped in, and when I sat in the driver's seat ready to put my seat belt on, James pushed Rescue Pack's button and he started his annoying song. I looked back at James and he said, "We're not driving yet so I can play the song." OOOOOH NO. He's already turning into his FATHER! :)
We started our shopping at Babies R Us, no big deal, got some diapers and some new jammies that were on clearance for the kids. Then we hiked over to Old Navy (with the kids in the Babies R Us cart, because I don't care), and shopped for a while there for new clothes for ME. Not them. I was able to pull off having them in the cart for a while, until James wanted go see the doggie with the button. ??? I don't know... but we did find a doggie on a bench with a button that you push and he talks. Good memory, James.
They were troopers the whole way through, and I even had them looking at books when I was in the dressing room trying on clothes. Everything was great, really. So when James was begging me to be able to get a toy out of the "bubble gum" style machine, I said yes and gave them both a quarter. Thankfully, they had two kinds of machines. One was the kind that sold the really small things that are chocking hazards, and the other had bouncy balls. Perfect! I thought.
As soon as I told James he could get one, he was pointing at the orange one saying that he wanted that one. I tried to explain the "unpredictability" of the whole thing and then just pulled the Mrs. Wilhite line (teacher of 3s at Methodist). I told them "You get what you get and you don't cry a bit." James went first, put his quarter in and turned the knob and out came a blue bouncy ball! So exciting! Little did we know that when Kaitlyn would take her turn she'd get GREEN of all colors. Oh NO. Kaitlyn surprised me and asked James if he wanted the green one, and when he said yes and thank you, Kaitlyn decided that she didn't really want the blue one. So then she threw it and it bounced away about 10 feet into a corner. Sigh. I thought we were going to have a tantrum but Kaitlyn actually got a hold of herself and was happy with the blue ball. Whew.
As if I thought I hadn't had enough, I took the kids to Dillard's after that so I could take advantage of the Estee Lauder bonus gift. Silly me, I even picked up a few dresses to try on. After I had paid for my stuff at the Estee Lauder counter, I hauled the kids back to the dressing room to try on the dresses.
It's amazing what kids find to entertain themselves while in the dressing room with Mommy. James found one of those sticky papers from the lint roller on the floor and was treating it like it was the best toy you could find EVER. So naturally, Kaitlyn wanted it. There was a struggle, there was crying, there was a bit of screaming, and there was a naught spot time out for Kaitlyn. All in all, 10 minutes later, out we walked with no new dresses for Mommy, and a sticky piece of paper... oh, and a bag full of Estee Lauder goodies. :)
I just realized that I've been in a bad habit of waiting for lots of things to write about before I blog, so they are getting a bit long. Oops. Sorry. I hope no one cares.
Now that the kids were hungry and I had gotten my goodies from Dillard's, I figured that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if the kids and I got some dinner while we were out. Nathan was out watching the golf tourney anyway, so he wasn't home. I asked James what he wanted for dinner and he said, "Pizza!" Of course.
There is a Pizza Hut really close to the mall that we had been to, so we headed over there. In my head I was envisioning the old style pizza restaurant that had the big buffet of pizza, a huge salad bar for those watching their weight (ahem), a lot of kids with their parents and lots of laughter and fun had by all. Boy was I wrong. Times have changed.
There was one waiter for the entire restaurant that was about the size of the smallest McDonald's you've ever seen. There was NO salad bar, no pizza buffet, and to top it all off, WEIRD poor trashy people. Ha ha.
We sat next to a table of 6. There was one father with two older sons. The oldest son smelled like big cigarette and was with a girlfriend who had REALLY bad teeth, blue hair, a baseball cap and a necklace with a skull on it. The "middle" child, a boy about the age of 12, looked exactly like his father, surprisingly very cute, but at one point slapped the older brother in the head. The "youngest" was a little sweet skinny little baby named Destiny. Clearly the baby daddy was the daddy of them all, but the woman was no way old enough to be the mother of the other two boys. At one point, while my kids were coloring and playing with their papers, I looked over to the daddy (wearing a Mt. Dew shirt) who was letting the baby suck on a straw full of soda. SICK. I mean really, people... what are you THINKING? The worst part is that the whole time I was there I was worried that they were looking at ME and judging ME because my kids were talking loudly and not sitting still. Oh how distorted.
Oh, and when we got our Thin and Crispy pizza, it was cold. Awesome.
I had better get to bed... it's a school night!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Kaitlyn graduates her Safe Start refresher course
Kaitlyn has been taking swim lessons from Ms. Denise Parker at the Crosby YMCA for the past month. It's a "class" that's only supposed to last two to three weeks, but due to illnesses, rescheduling stuff, etc. it has lasted about a month. This video is from Wednesday, when she got to swim in her "summer" clothing. She finished with her last lesson this morning. She's such a good swimmer now! :) Good job Kaitlyn! Now we just have to get in to the bath tub, er, I mean pool we have out back and practice.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
KCK, like they call it on the news.
I flew to Kansas City at the crack of dawn last Friday for my friend Brian's wedding. He's a great friend of mine, and has been since my early college years. He's one of those friends that you can go for three years without talking to, but when you do, it's right back to where you left off. Usually involving sarcasm on his part. Ha.
Brian, Brandon, Lucas and Joe are all from Winterset, Iowa, and when I first met Lucas in English class in 1996 at ISU, I met Joe, Brandon and Brain soon after. I spent a lot of time with these guys in college at the (they were all Sig Eps), probably too much, but we have been friends ever since and have now seen each other through living abroad, long relationships, weddings, etc. It's fun to be able to see these guys, too bad it's only once in a while! Too bad, too, that I accidentally drank a bit too much Chardonnay. OOPS. Ha.
I also got to catch up with the Redstone family on Saturday. It was so much fun to be able to see their house, see those kids (growing like WEEDS), and catch up with Troy and Kristalynn. We had a great dinner and I learned a lot about gardening and compost piles. ;) Ha ha, no really, we had a very nice time chatting. I even got to help with one of their Mac problems, so I felt pretty important. I think I earned my dinner. ;)
Here are some pictures from the wedding. I was happy to be without the kids for the weekend, but really missed Nathan (well of course I missed my kids too, you know what I mean ;) ). I didn't even bless the dance floor with my presence until the traditional interlocking swaying circle of Sig Eps and friends for "Piano Man" by Billy Joel.
Best wishes to Brian and Laura as they begin their journey as a married couple. Cheers! Hint: avoid too much Chardonnay. Ha.
Me with Lucas and Chrissy. Such a fun couple!
Me and Mike Stitt.
Me, Brandon and Rick.
Me and Mr. Brian Tadlock minus his bride. Where was Laura anyway? :)
Me and Joe. He's CRAZY. Ha.
Two of most favorite people ever, Lucas and Joe.
Brian, Brandon, Lucas and Joe are all from Winterset, Iowa, and when I first met Lucas in English class in 1996 at ISU, I met Joe, Brandon and Brain soon after. I spent a lot of time with these guys in college at the (they were all Sig Eps), probably too much, but we have been friends ever since and have now seen each other through living abroad, long relationships, weddings, etc. It's fun to be able to see these guys, too bad it's only once in a while! Too bad, too, that I accidentally drank a bit too much Chardonnay. OOPS. Ha.
I also got to catch up with the Redstone family on Saturday. It was so much fun to be able to see their house, see those kids (growing like WEEDS), and catch up with Troy and Kristalynn. We had a great dinner and I learned a lot about gardening and compost piles. ;) Ha ha, no really, we had a very nice time chatting. I even got to help with one of their Mac problems, so I felt pretty important. I think I earned my dinner. ;)
Here are some pictures from the wedding. I was happy to be without the kids for the weekend, but really missed Nathan (well of course I missed my kids too, you know what I mean ;) ). I didn't even bless the dance floor with my presence until the traditional interlocking swaying circle of Sig Eps and friends for "Piano Man" by Billy Joel.
Best wishes to Brian and Laura as they begin their journey as a married couple. Cheers! Hint: avoid too much Chardonnay. Ha.
Me with Lucas and Chrissy. Such a fun couple! 
Me and Mike Stitt.
Me, Brandon and Rick.
Me and Mr. Brian Tadlock minus his bride. Where was Laura anyway? :)
Me and Joe. He's CRAZY. Ha.
Two of most favorite people ever, Lucas and Joe.Monday, August 3, 2009
Mooned
Kaitlyn has decided that bedtime is boring. So, she has been getting out of bed and bringing things into her bed to keep her entertained. The obvious things are cars, toys, or books, even if it's so dark she can't see them. The not-so-obvious though are things like her step-stool or her container of Huggies wipes. I'm not sure why she does this, although she always has had a fascination with pulling the wipes out of the container. I can handle this... just as long as I don't have to find her enveloped in a sea of wipes some night. I did find her in bed with the wipes after she woke up from her nap today. As soon as I walked in she greeted me with a warning that she had "poopies". Sigh.
One surprise for me happened the other night when I went in to check on her after she had fallen asleep. I opened up her door and looked in to her room to find a bare butt staring me in the face. Yes, she had taken off her pj bottoms AND had taken off her diaper. Thankfully, the diaper was still clean and she hadn't gone to the bathroom in her sleep. WHEW. Crisis averted. I had to laugh though, my baby girl was "mooning" me! ;)
James went to his second dental appointment today. What a success! I absolutely can't fathom WHY he is so good in the dental chair. Of course I'm not complaining, but I really have to give high marks to the hygienist and whoever made the decision to put in flat screen LCD TVs above the patient's chair. Brilliant! I fear, however, that Kaitlyn Beth will throw them a curve ball once her turn rolls around! Ha.
One surprise for me happened the other night when I went in to check on her after she had fallen asleep. I opened up her door and looked in to her room to find a bare butt staring me in the face. Yes, she had taken off her pj bottoms AND had taken off her diaper. Thankfully, the diaper was still clean and she hadn't gone to the bathroom in her sleep. WHEW. Crisis averted. I had to laugh though, my baby girl was "mooning" me! ;)
James went to his second dental appointment today. What a success! I absolutely can't fathom WHY he is so good in the dental chair. Of course I'm not complaining, but I really have to give high marks to the hygienist and whoever made the decision to put in flat screen LCD TVs above the patient's chair. Brilliant! I fear, however, that Kaitlyn Beth will throw them a curve ball once her turn rolls around! Ha.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
5 Years and Counting!
Nathan and I celebrated our 5th wedding Anniversary yesterday, and we celebrated it in style. We had Mimi, our nanny, come over and spend the night with the kids. So, we left our house yesterday at lunch time and headed over to The Ravenous Pig for lunch and drinks... yes, drinks. I really really really really REALLY (like James says)like their Margarita. It's so tasty... it's expensive, but so worth the money!
I had the pub burger for lunch, with accompanying truffle fries (I'm addicted, totally addicted), and Nathan had an Oyster and Shrimp Po Boy. Oh boy! We also split the deviled eggs for an appetizer, as we both are insanely pleased with the guilty goodness of deviled eggs. ;)
After we left the Pig, actually, after we rolled out of the Pig, we headed to the Millenia Mall for a bit of shopping. I was still enjoying the effects of my margarita so we spent a little too much money... ha. No, actually, we did pretty well. I bought a purse from Kenneth Cole that was marked WAY down, and both of us got some new shoes. They are Ecco shoes, super comfy walking shoes for our trek over in Greece. Nathan got a new t-shirt at Urban Outfitters, and I got some sliver sandals that were on sale that look like they are right out of Mama Mia. Greece, here we come! Now I just need to lose 15 lbs. and buy some hippie dresses.
Did I even blog about that? Yes, we're going to Greece! I can't wait!!!!!! We're going in September and finally have concrete plans. Flying into Athens, departing to Sifnos for 2 days, then to Milos for 2 days, then to Santorini for 3 days, and then back to Athens for the night before we fly home. Ana's gonna kill me for not picking Mykonos, but Nathan and I decided we'd rather see smaller islands and Santorini. Sorry Ana. :(
Anyway, back to our anniversary escapade.... After we left the mall, we headed over to the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes for the night. Holla! :) We changed in some of our airline miles for money credit at the Ritz. So, we spoiled ourselves with a night stay and a couple's massage at the spa, and then some relaxation at the private pool. Oh yeah. It was amazing!!!
The room left little to be desired... full mini bar (which we are still too cheap to use), a single serving coffee maker that actually made good coffee, and the view was of the golf course, pool and patio down below. We also had a veranda, too bad it was raining when we got there.
The bathroom was indulgent, and the travel sized lotion and shower gel, just happened to be the same scent of perfume that I wear. Score! I snatched those up, and then again when they replenished them when we were out of the room. I <3 travel sized things. I don't know why!! I'm such a sucker!
We decided to go to Season's 52 for dinner, so we headed there by "black car" which was pretty dang pricey, it isn't a complimentary service apparently. Humph. Dinner was fabulous... we started out with an artichoke and goat cheese flatbread that I vowed to learn how to make. I had halibut with shrimp risotto and veggies and Nathan had scallops with orzo pasta. We split an Australian bottle of Shiraz, which was awesome, and of course the desserts were great too. They are such teasers though... they don't even ASK you if you want to see the desserts, they just bring them over to you, set them in front of you and watch you drool to the point where you can't possibly say no anymore. I picked the chocolate and peanut butter one (duh) and Nathan picked the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.
We taxi'd it over to Howl at the Moon on International Drive. Nathan had been to one of these bars in Tampa (I think he said Tampa), so he thought we'd have fun there. We did... maybe too much. Oh well. I know for SURE we didn't have as much fun as the very large girls who were sitting next to us celebrating one of the girl's birthday's and wearing those horrible birthday hats. YIKES. Ha ha ha.
This morning we enjoyed breakfast in the restaurant and then headed over to our massage. That was awesome. It was literally the largest spa I've ever seen. They probably employ at least 20 massage therapists. The pool time that we had in the afternoon was fabulous too, very quiet, very relaxing, very kid-less. :)
We got home a few hours ago, and everything here at the house is in great shape, except for the garage door. Somehow the spring broke and it wasn't opening. We thought Mimi's car was going to be stuck in the garage, but He Man (aka Nathan) got the door open and we got the cars out. Now, though, he's lying in bed with an ice pack on his sore back. Sigh... so much for that massage. Oh well, it was the day that was wonderful, not just the massage.
Happy Anniversary, Nathan. Love you tons.
I had the pub burger for lunch, with accompanying truffle fries (I'm addicted, totally addicted), and Nathan had an Oyster and Shrimp Po Boy. Oh boy! We also split the deviled eggs for an appetizer, as we both are insanely pleased with the guilty goodness of deviled eggs. ;)
After we left the Pig, actually, after we rolled out of the Pig, we headed to the Millenia Mall for a bit of shopping. I was still enjoying the effects of my margarita so we spent a little too much money... ha. No, actually, we did pretty well. I bought a purse from Kenneth Cole that was marked WAY down, and both of us got some new shoes. They are Ecco shoes, super comfy walking shoes for our trek over in Greece. Nathan got a new t-shirt at Urban Outfitters, and I got some sliver sandals that were on sale that look like they are right out of Mama Mia. Greece, here we come! Now I just need to lose 15 lbs. and buy some hippie dresses.
Did I even blog about that? Yes, we're going to Greece! I can't wait!!!!!! We're going in September and finally have concrete plans. Flying into Athens, departing to Sifnos for 2 days, then to Milos for 2 days, then to Santorini for 3 days, and then back to Athens for the night before we fly home. Ana's gonna kill me for not picking Mykonos, but Nathan and I decided we'd rather see smaller islands and Santorini. Sorry Ana. :(
Anyway, back to our anniversary escapade.... After we left the mall, we headed over to the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes for the night. Holla! :) We changed in some of our airline miles for money credit at the Ritz. So, we spoiled ourselves with a night stay and a couple's massage at the spa, and then some relaxation at the private pool. Oh yeah. It was amazing!!!
The room left little to be desired... full mini bar (which we are still too cheap to use), a single serving coffee maker that actually made good coffee, and the view was of the golf course, pool and patio down below. We also had a veranda, too bad it was raining when we got there.
The bathroom was indulgent, and the travel sized lotion and shower gel, just happened to be the same scent of perfume that I wear. Score! I snatched those up, and then again when they replenished them when we were out of the room. I <3 travel sized things. I don't know why!! I'm such a sucker!
We decided to go to Season's 52 for dinner, so we headed there by "black car" which was pretty dang pricey, it isn't a complimentary service apparently. Humph. Dinner was fabulous... we started out with an artichoke and goat cheese flatbread that I vowed to learn how to make. I had halibut with shrimp risotto and veggies and Nathan had scallops with orzo pasta. We split an Australian bottle of Shiraz, which was awesome, and of course the desserts were great too. They are such teasers though... they don't even ASK you if you want to see the desserts, they just bring them over to you, set them in front of you and watch you drool to the point where you can't possibly say no anymore. I picked the chocolate and peanut butter one (duh) and Nathan picked the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.
We taxi'd it over to Howl at the Moon on International Drive. Nathan had been to one of these bars in Tampa (I think he said Tampa), so he thought we'd have fun there. We did... maybe too much. Oh well. I know for SURE we didn't have as much fun as the very large girls who were sitting next to us celebrating one of the girl's birthday's and wearing those horrible birthday hats. YIKES. Ha ha ha.
This morning we enjoyed breakfast in the restaurant and then headed over to our massage. That was awesome. It was literally the largest spa I've ever seen. They probably employ at least 20 massage therapists. The pool time that we had in the afternoon was fabulous too, very quiet, very relaxing, very kid-less. :)
We got home a few hours ago, and everything here at the house is in great shape, except for the garage door. Somehow the spring broke and it wasn't opening. We thought Mimi's car was going to be stuck in the garage, but He Man (aka Nathan) got the door open and we got the cars out. Now, though, he's lying in bed with an ice pack on his sore back. Sigh... so much for that massage. Oh well, it was the day that was wonderful, not just the massage.
Happy Anniversary, Nathan. Love you tons.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
I quit
"I quit!" is the phrase most used by James lately. It is mostly used when he's upset at Kaitlyn, or me, or Daddy when James doesn't get his way. He usually seeks solace after this phrase is shouted to the rooftops in my room, or on the naughty spot. I think it's funny that he voluntarily goes to sit on the naughty spot (the bottom stair of the staircase that leads upstairs), even when he's not in trouble and just needs a place to sit.
One day, while we were in South Dakota, James was mad at me for something and he told me, "I quit you Mommy!" and his tone of voice was saying, "I'm going to go find a new mommy now because I don't like you!" Ha ha. It made me feel sad... for about .5 seconds and then I giggled.
I wanted to get another story into the blog from a while ago too... this one is exemplifying how James' sayings and vocabulary are straight out of the 50's black and white cinema and television. He fell down one day, and since I could tell it wasn't one of those falls that hurt very much, rather was more scary than hurtful, I asked him, "Did you get scared, honey?"
His reply, "I sure did, Mom, I SURE did." WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! :)
Sometimes when James is crying and I'm not sure why, I'll ask him, "What's wrong James? Does something hurt?"
"Yes, Mommy, my feelings hurt!" Aw, what a sweetie.
James likes to play with Kaitlyn a lot, which of course I love, since it keeps them entertained and Kaitlyn absolutely adores James. James likes to play the "I'm older, therefore can tell Kaitlyn what to do" card and gets a little bossy at times. It's hysterical to hear him try to get Kaitlyn's attention, all he does is say her name 3 times really fast. It doesn't sound like "Kaitlyn" anymore though, it gets morphed into "Kellan".
He'll say, "Kellan! Kellan! Kellan! Watch this!" So funny! He does say her name correctly most of the time though, especially when he's mad and it comes out as "Kait-LYN!" Ha ha.
Kaitlyn has started a Safe Start refresher course at the Crosby YMCA. Last year we swam with Alisha, and this year we are swimming with Denise. Denise has been there for a long time, and she is always highly recommended. I don't think Alisha is swimming anymore, she's in nursing school. SO... we've started with Denise.
The first few days were kinda rocky. Kaitlyn cried, "I want MOMMY!" the whole lesson. She did, however, change her tune when she'd get out of the pool to, "I'm a good swimmer!" So funny... as SOON as she was out and safe with me, "I'm a good swimmer, MOMMY!"
The second morning we were driving over to the Y, and I told Kaitlyn that we were going to go swimming with Miss Denise.
"I don't like Miss Denise, Mommy! I don't want to go swimming!"
"I know," I told her, "but Miss Denise is nice and she's teaching you how to swim."
"She's teaching me how to swim, Mommy?" (She repeats EVERYTHING I tell her.)
"Yes, honey, she's teaching you how to swim."
"Okay, Mommy."
Sometimes Kaitlyn gets derailed with her words when she's talking to me or Nathan. If she's talking to me and starts calling me "Daddy", she'll change mid word and say "Dommy" or "Dammy". Likewise, when she's talking to Nathan and she starts calling him "Mommy" she changes it to "Moddy" or "Maddy". It's so funny! There will come a day when that goes away, and it'll be a sad day for me! :)
One of the cutest things that Kaitlyn says right now is "Mommy! I got someping!" I just am in love with the way she says that for some reason. Aw, my baby is growing up!! :(
My Mom is off to Utah today to help Dad through his knee replacement surgery on July 30th. I pray he has a successful and easy surgery and a fast recovery! Love you Daddy!
One day, while we were in South Dakota, James was mad at me for something and he told me, "I quit you Mommy!" and his tone of voice was saying, "I'm going to go find a new mommy now because I don't like you!" Ha ha. It made me feel sad... for about .5 seconds and then I giggled.
I wanted to get another story into the blog from a while ago too... this one is exemplifying how James' sayings and vocabulary are straight out of the 50's black and white cinema and television. He fell down one day, and since I could tell it wasn't one of those falls that hurt very much, rather was more scary than hurtful, I asked him, "Did you get scared, honey?"
His reply, "I sure did, Mom, I SURE did." WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! :)
Sometimes when James is crying and I'm not sure why, I'll ask him, "What's wrong James? Does something hurt?"
"Yes, Mommy, my feelings hurt!" Aw, what a sweetie.
James likes to play with Kaitlyn a lot, which of course I love, since it keeps them entertained and Kaitlyn absolutely adores James. James likes to play the "I'm older, therefore can tell Kaitlyn what to do" card and gets a little bossy at times. It's hysterical to hear him try to get Kaitlyn's attention, all he does is say her name 3 times really fast. It doesn't sound like "Kaitlyn" anymore though, it gets morphed into "Kellan".
He'll say, "Kellan! Kellan! Kellan! Watch this!" So funny! He does say her name correctly most of the time though, especially when he's mad and it comes out as "Kait-LYN!" Ha ha.
Kaitlyn has started a Safe Start refresher course at the Crosby YMCA. Last year we swam with Alisha, and this year we are swimming with Denise. Denise has been there for a long time, and she is always highly recommended. I don't think Alisha is swimming anymore, she's in nursing school. SO... we've started with Denise.
The first few days were kinda rocky. Kaitlyn cried, "I want MOMMY!" the whole lesson. She did, however, change her tune when she'd get out of the pool to, "I'm a good swimmer!" So funny... as SOON as she was out and safe with me, "I'm a good swimmer, MOMMY!"
The second morning we were driving over to the Y, and I told Kaitlyn that we were going to go swimming with Miss Denise.
"I don't like Miss Denise, Mommy! I don't want to go swimming!"
"I know," I told her, "but Miss Denise is nice and she's teaching you how to swim."
"She's teaching me how to swim, Mommy?" (She repeats EVERYTHING I tell her.)
"Yes, honey, she's teaching you how to swim."
"Okay, Mommy."
Sometimes Kaitlyn gets derailed with her words when she's talking to me or Nathan. If she's talking to me and starts calling me "Daddy", she'll change mid word and say "Dommy" or "Dammy". Likewise, when she's talking to Nathan and she starts calling him "Mommy" she changes it to "Moddy" or "Maddy". It's so funny! There will come a day when that goes away, and it'll be a sad day for me! :)
One of the cutest things that Kaitlyn says right now is "Mommy! I got someping!" I just am in love with the way she says that for some reason. Aw, my baby is growing up!! :(
My Mom is off to Utah today to help Dad through his knee replacement surgery on July 30th. I pray he has a successful and easy surgery and a fast recovery! Love you Daddy!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Customers!
Lately, James has been obsessed with the movie Cars. This fascination comes and goes, but now it's really in full swing. He loves watching the movie, and also plays with his new "Poingo" toy that is basically a pen looking thing that reads books for him. He has 4 books that go with the Poingo, but has yet to read any of them but Cars.
There is a part of the book where Lightning McQueen is telling Doc that he's "not a bulldozer" he's a race car. In the movie, Doc replies with, "Whoa, ho!" and it's not in the book... so James adds it. It's too funny. EVERY TIME. Ha.
The other obsession besides the story in general and quoting miscellaneous parts, is his adaptation of this to real life. Especially when someone knocks at our front door. "Customers!" he yells. Just like Sally says it, too. It's just so funny.
Kaitlyn pulled one over on us and decided to finally cut the missing tooth that has been a gap in her beautiful smile. It's the one on her left side, right next to the top front tooth. This is usually one of the first 8 teeth to come in when kids are infants, but for some reason, it has just now decided to "sprout". So strange. The Casey side of my family (especially Delos, my grandfather) is known for missing these two adult teeth. There are some descendants of Delos' in our family that are missing them, and now we're wondering if Kaitlyn is missing her left adult tooth. Hmmm... time will tell. Looks like she's gonna need an x-ray to figure this one out.
Kaitlyn had her first haircut the other day. I took her and James to Fantastic Sams for this brand new experience of Kaitlyn's. She was scared, so I sad in the seat with her and put her on my lap. I couldn't take a picture because I was sitting with her. :( The positive thing about it though, is that it really wasn't a big deal at all. I told the lady that was cutting her hair only to take off the very ends to even it all out. She did just that... and only took off a minuscule amount of hair in the back. I'm glad I had a coupon for a kids' cut for $6.95. I could have even done that. I am happy, however, that it was a pleasant experience for Kaitlyn and that the lady didn't whack off her beautiful curls. :)
This blog is getting long because I've been a slacker... but I wanted to make note that one of my best friends is going to give birth tomorrow to her second son. Cindy, has a scheduled C-section in the morning. We are very anxious to meet baby Zachary Cole, and pray to God above that everything goes well for the Farrar family tomorrow. This is their last baby since Cindy has a horrible (and I mean horrible) time with pregnancies. I am thankful to God that she didn't have the complications this time that she had with Field, and that she has carried this sweet boy to term. Now... who is he gonna look like? :)
Sheesh, and one more thing... today is Mom's birthday, and she's way over in Germany. :( We miss you mama!
There is a part of the book where Lightning McQueen is telling Doc that he's "not a bulldozer" he's a race car. In the movie, Doc replies with, "Whoa, ho!" and it's not in the book... so James adds it. It's too funny. EVERY TIME. Ha.
The other obsession besides the story in general and quoting miscellaneous parts, is his adaptation of this to real life. Especially when someone knocks at our front door. "Customers!" he yells. Just like Sally says it, too. It's just so funny.
Kaitlyn pulled one over on us and decided to finally cut the missing tooth that has been a gap in her beautiful smile. It's the one on her left side, right next to the top front tooth. This is usually one of the first 8 teeth to come in when kids are infants, but for some reason, it has just now decided to "sprout". So strange. The Casey side of my family (especially Delos, my grandfather) is known for missing these two adult teeth. There are some descendants of Delos' in our family that are missing them, and now we're wondering if Kaitlyn is missing her left adult tooth. Hmmm... time will tell. Looks like she's gonna need an x-ray to figure this one out.
Kaitlyn had her first haircut the other day. I took her and James to Fantastic Sams for this brand new experience of Kaitlyn's. She was scared, so I sad in the seat with her and put her on my lap. I couldn't take a picture because I was sitting with her. :( The positive thing about it though, is that it really wasn't a big deal at all. I told the lady that was cutting her hair only to take off the very ends to even it all out. She did just that... and only took off a minuscule amount of hair in the back. I'm glad I had a coupon for a kids' cut for $6.95. I could have even done that. I am happy, however, that it was a pleasant experience for Kaitlyn and that the lady didn't whack off her beautiful curls. :)
This blog is getting long because I've been a slacker... but I wanted to make note that one of my best friends is going to give birth tomorrow to her second son. Cindy, has a scheduled C-section in the morning. We are very anxious to meet baby Zachary Cole, and pray to God above that everything goes well for the Farrar family tomorrow. This is their last baby since Cindy has a horrible (and I mean horrible) time with pregnancies. I am thankful to God that she didn't have the complications this time that she had with Field, and that she has carried this sweet boy to term. Now... who is he gonna look like? :)
Sheesh, and one more thing... today is Mom's birthday, and she's way over in Germany. :( We miss you mama!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Road Trips
We've been busy the last few days. On Friday, the kids and I headed out to Clermont to see Cindy and Field one last time before new baby Zach is born. Those Farrars sure know how to party... for toddlers, that is. They had one of those huge blown up water slides for the kids to play on. Field was a natural, and had to show my scared kids how to climb up the thing and slide down. It took James a while to want to get wet and climb up there, but after the first slide down, he was hooked. Kaitlyn was the one that needed my help climbing the foot hole/handle slippery wall. Of course, I didn't bring a bathing suit either, so I got pretty wet. Nothing a good ol' hot Florida day can't fix. I was dry in about 1.4 seconds. Cindy and I watched the kids play while we caught up, then we had lunch time. Kaitlyn even got to have a nap in the big guest bed. What a big girl!
James was incredibly sad to have to leave Field... he cried, and cried, and cried. He's getting back into (has he ever NOT been in to?) the tantrum phase. Kicking, screaming, all of that hullabaloo. It's crazy. Nathan and I try to talk him down most of the time, but in this instance, he needed to go chill on the "naughty spot" for a few minutes. Man, he's getting strong and heavy!
On Saturday, Nathan and the kids and I drove to Lakeland to see Trippi and the rest of the McGlinn family (Toby, Madey and Tobyn). I was originally going to go down by myself to photograph their family, but we decided to all go and spend the day. That was much more fun! :) I did shoot photos, and I'm still working on editing through them and such, so check my blog in a few days for the photo highlights.
When we arrived, we heard the dreaded story that Madey had cut Tobyn's hair. It's a little strange, really, since when Trippi had texted me in the car that their morning had been awful, I said to Nathan, "Madey probably cut her hair... or Tobyn's..." Funny! Ok, not really. Ha. Granted I hadn't seen what Tobyn's hair was like before the "day at the salon", but I didn't think it looked that bad... Trippi thought it was a bit mullet-like. :)
James and Madey have so much fun together. Madey knows way more than James about death, doom and destruction due to her parents' fantastically weird obsession with horror films. At one point, Trippi and I were watching Madey pretend she was dead while lying in a closed bench that sits at the foot of her bed. Weirdo. ;) I was shocked that even James wanted to try it though!
One of the highlights of the trip, for me, was when Madey had brought out her "boom box" and started playing a slow Christmas song... I can't remember which one it was. About 2/3 of the way through the song, I looked over and down the hallway to see Madey and James holding hands, swaying back and forth, dancing together. AWWWWW! Serioushttp://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2602857&id=750477753ly! I tried to get every one's attention to look and see, but it was too late. Oh my goodness it was just so cute!
Kaitlyn had another nice nap in Toby and Trippi's bed, and after she woke up we played for a bit in their back yard. We fed Sully, their tortoise, leaves and flowers and played on their play scape. There was even some jumping rope going on at one point. We had a blast!
Before we headed to Lakeland, I made the kids clean up. ;) JK.
Madey getting ready to hide in her trunk and be "dead". I'm tellin' ya... kids these days. Sigh. Ha ha.
Madey and James
Trippi "punking it out"- look at that bomb of a mess on the floor. :)
Sully! He eats leaves and flowers, what a cool looking dude!
Chomp, chomp, chomp... "Thanks Mike."
"Uh, Mike? Do you think you could rip me off another one of those leaves?"
"Oh come you, you expect me to get full on that?"
"What? Do I have something on my face?"
Tobyn on their playscape.
Tobyn and Kaitlyn loved playing with the rocks by the fire pit.
"Hey Kaitlyn, if you be quiet, we can throw these rocks in the fire pit and make my daddy mad."
"Witches unite!"
Mike pretends to throw Madey into the fire pit. Ha!
On our way home, we hit TGI Friday's for some dinner. Check out this photo that I snagged with my phone that is just awesome....
James was incredibly sad to have to leave Field... he cried, and cried, and cried. He's getting back into (has he ever NOT been in to?) the tantrum phase. Kicking, screaming, all of that hullabaloo. It's crazy. Nathan and I try to talk him down most of the time, but in this instance, he needed to go chill on the "naughty spot" for a few minutes. Man, he's getting strong and heavy!
On Saturday, Nathan and the kids and I drove to Lakeland to see Trippi and the rest of the McGlinn family (Toby, Madey and Tobyn). I was originally going to go down by myself to photograph their family, but we decided to all go and spend the day. That was much more fun! :) I did shoot photos, and I'm still working on editing through them and such, so check my blog in a few days for the photo highlights.
When we arrived, we heard the dreaded story that Madey had cut Tobyn's hair. It's a little strange, really, since when Trippi had texted me in the car that their morning had been awful, I said to Nathan, "Madey probably cut her hair... or Tobyn's..." Funny! Ok, not really. Ha. Granted I hadn't seen what Tobyn's hair was like before the "day at the salon", but I didn't think it looked that bad... Trippi thought it was a bit mullet-like. :)
James and Madey have so much fun together. Madey knows way more than James about death, doom and destruction due to her parents' fantastically weird obsession with horror films. At one point, Trippi and I were watching Madey pretend she was dead while lying in a closed bench that sits at the foot of her bed. Weirdo. ;) I was shocked that even James wanted to try it though!
One of the highlights of the trip, for me, was when Madey had brought out her "boom box" and started playing a slow Christmas song... I can't remember which one it was. About 2/3 of the way through the song, I looked over and down the hallway to see Madey and James holding hands, swaying back and forth, dancing together. AWWWWW! Serioushttp://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2602857&id=750477753ly! I tried to get every one's attention to look and see, but it was too late. Oh my goodness it was just so cute!
Kaitlyn had another nice nap in Toby and Trippi's bed, and after she woke up we played for a bit in their back yard. We fed Sully, their tortoise, leaves and flowers and played on their play scape. There was even some jumping rope going on at one point. We had a blast!
Before we headed to Lakeland, I made the kids clean up. ;) JK.
Madey getting ready to hide in her trunk and be "dead". I'm tellin' ya... kids these days. Sigh. Ha ha.
Madey and James
Trippi "punking it out"- look at that bomb of a mess on the floor. :)
Sully! He eats leaves and flowers, what a cool looking dude!
Chomp, chomp, chomp... "Thanks Mike."
"Uh, Mike? Do you think you could rip me off another one of those leaves?"
"Oh come you, you expect me to get full on that?"
"What? Do I have something on my face?"
Tobyn on their playscape.
Tobyn and Kaitlyn loved playing with the rocks by the fire pit.
"Hey Kaitlyn, if you be quiet, we can throw these rocks in the fire pit and make my daddy mad."
"Witches unite!"
Mike pretends to throw Madey into the fire pit. Ha!On our way home, we hit TGI Friday's for some dinner. Check out this photo that I snagged with my phone that is just awesome....
Friday, July 10, 2009
That 70's Show isn't so kid friendly.
So last night I was lying on the couch watching some TV after an exhausting day. Nathan was out walking the dog, and the kids and I were just hangin'. That 70's Show was on the TV (one of my absolute favorites), and Donna was mad at Fez for ruining her wedding dress. She said to him, "I'm gonna kick your ass!" Guess what I heard come out of James' mouth? "I'm gonna kick your assssss!" Oh no. I ignored it... didn't do a single thing, said nothing, kept quiet. Thank goodness it hasn't resurfaced yet. ABC Family should maybe bleep out some things. GEEZ.
I know, for a fact, that quote... "I'm gonna kick your ass." is going to surface at the very wrong place, at the very wrong time. Ha.
I know, for a fact, that quote... "I'm gonna kick your ass." is going to surface at the very wrong place, at the very wrong time. Ha.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Ahhh, home sweet home.
We got home last night after a long day! Whew!
The kids and I started the day off yesterday by getting packed up and checked out of the hotel. Wouldn't you know... as soon as I had returned my key cards, put most things in the car but was still rolling the suitcases, Kaitlyn turned to me and said, "I have poopies, Mommy!" Oh geez. So off to the bathroom in the lobby we went, and whaddayaknow... no changing table. Awesome. Pull up some bathroom tile Kaitlyn!
I texted Kevin (who was with the kids, en route from Rapid City to Sioux Falls) to make sure he would be at the airport at 4:30 to help me with my 5 tons of crap that I had hauled along on the trip. Agreed, he'd be there at 4:30 at the Enterprise desk.
We picked up some food for the plane ride at the local "Grab N Go" gas station, you know, the usual... M&M's, two Lunchables with ham and cheese, etc. Pretty nutritional stuff there! The kids, especially James, were thoroughly excited to get Lunchables (James' first experience was on a picnic with Harrison, Bennett and Aunt Beth). At least we had one orange in the bag... that made me feel much better! Ha.
We got to the Enterprise place to return the car, so I left all the stuff in the car and went into the airport to tell them that I had the car but still needed to unload. Kevin and family were still no where to be found, so the nice guy at Enterprise helped me get all my junk out of the car, get my car returned, and walked us to the ticketing counter to check in. Lovely. Thank you kind guy. We chatted about Florida, he had lived in Tampa for a while.
We headed up through security and by the time boarding started, Kevin and kids still hadn't been through security yet. I was thoroughly excited to see them boarding the plane after we had all gone to the bathroom one last time. I seriously thought they were going to miss the flight. Turns out someone had a screw driver in their bag through security. Who was that anyway? I never heard.
The flight was uneventful, thank goodness. Kaitlyn had a first. She sat in her seat by herself instead of in her car seat. I literally didn't have enough hands on the flight there to carry the seat, so Kevin did it for me. This time around I elected to check the thing. I thought I had made the WRONG decision when we first got seated. Kaitlyn threw a fit because she wasn't in the window seat (where she is required to sit if there is a car seat involved). I had her in the aisle, and she didn't like that much. I bribed her to calm down with a half of a pack of M&M's, and told her if she didn't stop crying that I'd take them away. #1 Mom award nomination, right here, thank you. It worked though, and the rest of the flight was great.
When we started our decent and I had to turn off Cars on the computer, James started acting extremely bothered. He was saying that his tummy hurt, so naturally I asked him if he was going to throw up... he said yes. OH NO. GET THE BARF BAG! I got it out and opened it. He put his face in it and then said that he was fine. Oh thank goodness.
After we got over that, he started saying that he had to potty really bad. He said, "OOOOh, I have to go poottyyyy!" for the next 20 minutes while we landed and deplaned (he even tried to go into the bathroom when we were walking off the plane). Poor kid, I didn't think he was going to make it to the bathroom. He provided some entertainment for the people around us on the plane, and I'm sure, they were silently rooting for him to make it to the potty. Everyone, on the way out, was telling me that there was a bathroom at the top of the jet way. He made it. Whew!
We were so excited to see DADDY! Both kids ran up to him and gave him gigantic hugs and kisses. Love is so beautiful. The smiles even spread to those around us that were watching the kids reunite with their Daddy. So sweet.
Since we had that potty stop, Nathan had already gotten all of our luggage from the baggage claim, including both car seats. Onward! Home! Oh, wait, what Kevin? Mandy accidentally went to the wrong airport to pick you guys up? Oh, well, we'll all fit in the VAN! So, in we piled, all 8 of us and our luggage into the Odyssey. Three Miller kids in the back, the Wilcke kids and me in the middle, and Nathan and Kevin in the front. Voilla! We felt like clowns in a car... or sardines in a can... you get the picture. It was fun though, and we made it home safely. It was fun to see the Miller kids reunite with their mom.
The kids slept until 10 this morning, which was wonderful for me. We just got home from the doctor's office, not much to report on that. James is sick, but we think it's viral. I got a prescription for him though, in case it doesn't go away in a few days. It's most likely a sinus infection if it hangs around for a while. Poor kid.
We are all very happy to be home!
The kids and I started the day off yesterday by getting packed up and checked out of the hotel. Wouldn't you know... as soon as I had returned my key cards, put most things in the car but was still rolling the suitcases, Kaitlyn turned to me and said, "I have poopies, Mommy!" Oh geez. So off to the bathroom in the lobby we went, and whaddayaknow... no changing table. Awesome. Pull up some bathroom tile Kaitlyn!
I texted Kevin (who was with the kids, en route from Rapid City to Sioux Falls) to make sure he would be at the airport at 4:30 to help me with my 5 tons of crap that I had hauled along on the trip. Agreed, he'd be there at 4:30 at the Enterprise desk.
We picked up some food for the plane ride at the local "Grab N Go" gas station, you know, the usual... M&M's, two Lunchables with ham and cheese, etc. Pretty nutritional stuff there! The kids, especially James, were thoroughly excited to get Lunchables (James' first experience was on a picnic with Harrison, Bennett and Aunt Beth). At least we had one orange in the bag... that made me feel much better! Ha.
We got to the Enterprise place to return the car, so I left all the stuff in the car and went into the airport to tell them that I had the car but still needed to unload. Kevin and family were still no where to be found, so the nice guy at Enterprise helped me get all my junk out of the car, get my car returned, and walked us to the ticketing counter to check in. Lovely. Thank you kind guy. We chatted about Florida, he had lived in Tampa for a while.
We headed up through security and by the time boarding started, Kevin and kids still hadn't been through security yet. I was thoroughly excited to see them boarding the plane after we had all gone to the bathroom one last time. I seriously thought they were going to miss the flight. Turns out someone had a screw driver in their bag through security. Who was that anyway? I never heard.
The flight was uneventful, thank goodness. Kaitlyn had a first. She sat in her seat by herself instead of in her car seat. I literally didn't have enough hands on the flight there to carry the seat, so Kevin did it for me. This time around I elected to check the thing. I thought I had made the WRONG decision when we first got seated. Kaitlyn threw a fit because she wasn't in the window seat (where she is required to sit if there is a car seat involved). I had her in the aisle, and she didn't like that much. I bribed her to calm down with a half of a pack of M&M's, and told her if she didn't stop crying that I'd take them away. #1 Mom award nomination, right here, thank you. It worked though, and the rest of the flight was great.
When we started our decent and I had to turn off Cars on the computer, James started acting extremely bothered. He was saying that his tummy hurt, so naturally I asked him if he was going to throw up... he said yes. OH NO. GET THE BARF BAG! I got it out and opened it. He put his face in it and then said that he was fine. Oh thank goodness.
After we got over that, he started saying that he had to potty really bad. He said, "OOOOh, I have to go poottyyyy!" for the next 20 minutes while we landed and deplaned (he even tried to go into the bathroom when we were walking off the plane). Poor kid, I didn't think he was going to make it to the bathroom. He provided some entertainment for the people around us on the plane, and I'm sure, they were silently rooting for him to make it to the potty. Everyone, on the way out, was telling me that there was a bathroom at the top of the jet way. He made it. Whew!
We were so excited to see DADDY! Both kids ran up to him and gave him gigantic hugs and kisses. Love is so beautiful. The smiles even spread to those around us that were watching the kids reunite with their Daddy. So sweet.
Since we had that potty stop, Nathan had already gotten all of our luggage from the baggage claim, including both car seats. Onward! Home! Oh, wait, what Kevin? Mandy accidentally went to the wrong airport to pick you guys up? Oh, well, we'll all fit in the VAN! So, in we piled, all 8 of us and our luggage into the Odyssey. Three Miller kids in the back, the Wilcke kids and me in the middle, and Nathan and Kevin in the front. Voilla! We felt like clowns in a car... or sardines in a can... you get the picture. It was fun though, and we made it home safely. It was fun to see the Miller kids reunite with their mom.
The kids slept until 10 this morning, which was wonderful for me. We just got home from the doctor's office, not much to report on that. James is sick, but we think it's viral. I got a prescription for him though, in case it doesn't go away in a few days. It's most likely a sinus infection if it hangs around for a while. Poor kid.
We are all very happy to be home!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Automatic Trash
I took the kids to the mall this evening since we didn't have anything to do here in Sioux Falls. The weather was supposed to turn bad, so we decided to head out and get some dinner before it started to rain. Of course the kids wanted to play first at the germ infested play area. That lasted about 5 minutes until Kaitlyn slipped and fell backwards off of some stairs and James had to go potty. Long story short, after getting shoes on, James didn't have to go potty anymore, and Kaitlyn was back to running around. Doh. Oh well, I thought, this would be a great time to get hands washed and head back to the food court.
The kids enjoyed a ride on the miniature carousel for a WHOLE dollar (geez). They had a blast though, and it actually lasted a while, to my surprise. Then, it was off to the DQ.
I love Dairy Queen, but really only for their ice cream. I did notice though, that they had a kid's meal for around $3.00, which included a hot dog, drink, applesauce, a toy, AND a free kid's ice cream. Really? $3.00? Wow. Must be some quality hot dogs... sigh.
The kids and I sat down to eat... me my bbq beef burger and them their hot dogs, and they weren't the least bit interested in the hot dogs. Both kids ate their applesauce first, and while they did that, I cut their hot dogs in half for them. I looked in the center of the hot dog, and honestly, I could NOT tell if they were cooked all the way through. SICK! I tried a bite of Kaitlyn's and still wasn't sold, but she gobbled up a few bites and seemed happy with it. James had one bite, and after the past history of his touchy stomach, I decided to not push it. So basically, for dinner, they had applesauce, and ice cream. Nathan, I've lost it, haven't I?
The best, most awesome part of the night was me showing James the automatic trash door on the garbage cans in the food court. I told him, "James, watch this!" and I waved my hand in front of the door, and voila! It opened! You should have seen the look on his face! For the next five minutes while we waited for Kaitlyn to eat her ice cream, James put one thing after another into the trash just so he could wave his hand in front of the door to open it. Every time, he giggled. One older gentleman, who had just finished his ice cream, came over to the trash to throw away his cup. James quickly waved his hands in front of the door to open it for him and then rushed off to the side to get out of the man's way. The man looked at James and said, "Why thank you!" and James bent his elbow, putting his hand up to his waist, slowly bowed forward and said, "With pleasure!" LOL! Where does this kid come up with this stuff???
Pretty soon the trash can door stopped responding. I told James that it must be because it was tired. As we headed out through the rest of the food court to the parking lot, James waved in front of every trash can door he could find. When it opened, he said, "Nope! This one's not tired!" :)
The kids enjoyed a ride on the miniature carousel for a WHOLE dollar (geez). They had a blast though, and it actually lasted a while, to my surprise. Then, it was off to the DQ.
I love Dairy Queen, but really only for their ice cream. I did notice though, that they had a kid's meal for around $3.00, which included a hot dog, drink, applesauce, a toy, AND a free kid's ice cream. Really? $3.00? Wow. Must be some quality hot dogs... sigh.
The kids and I sat down to eat... me my bbq beef burger and them their hot dogs, and they weren't the least bit interested in the hot dogs. Both kids ate their applesauce first, and while they did that, I cut their hot dogs in half for them. I looked in the center of the hot dog, and honestly, I could NOT tell if they were cooked all the way through. SICK! I tried a bite of Kaitlyn's and still wasn't sold, but she gobbled up a few bites and seemed happy with it. James had one bite, and after the past history of his touchy stomach, I decided to not push it. So basically, for dinner, they had applesauce, and ice cream. Nathan, I've lost it, haven't I?
The best, most awesome part of the night was me showing James the automatic trash door on the garbage cans in the food court. I told him, "James, watch this!" and I waved my hand in front of the door, and voila! It opened! You should have seen the look on his face! For the next five minutes while we waited for Kaitlyn to eat her ice cream, James put one thing after another into the trash just so he could wave his hand in front of the door to open it. Every time, he giggled. One older gentleman, who had just finished his ice cream, came over to the trash to throw away his cup. James quickly waved his hands in front of the door to open it for him and then rushed off to the side to get out of the man's way. The man looked at James and said, "Why thank you!" and James bent his elbow, putting his hand up to his waist, slowly bowed forward and said, "With pleasure!" LOL! Where does this kid come up with this stuff???
Pretty soon the trash can door stopped responding. I told James that it must be because it was tired. As we headed out through the rest of the food court to the parking lot, James waved in front of every trash can door he could find. When it opened, he said, "Nope! This one's not tired!" :)
Back to Sioux Falls, can't we just go HOME?
On the 5th, we drove back to Sioux Falls. My parents, the kids and I made the trip over nap time again, but late nap time. Before we headed out of town, we stopped at Auntie Lois' house to see it. Mom and Gini liked looking through the house and through some family photo albums. It seems I may have another scanning project on my hands someday. :) It was fun to see Maggie and Justin, Kari and Matt again too. I didn't get to see them much, which I chalk up to having the kids with me.
The kids fell asleep immediately in the car and slept the whole way again, I even nodded off for a while which was nice but uncomfortable. Ha. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, as these past few days have been. I seem to be exhausted and really really really ready to go home. My patience has run thin, and I basically have none left. When we said bye to Grandma and Papa today (we dropped them off at the airport for their flight to Utah) and I used all my energy not to cry in the car on the way back to the hotel. James was chanting, "Grandma! Grandma!" and I was just about bawling. Pure exhaustion, I think.
The best part about being in Sioux Falls again is the pool at this hotel. We're staying at the Clubhouse hotel on Loise. It has a pool, but it's only 3 feet deep in the deepest part. Why is it so great then? SLIDES! There is one huge slide for kids that are at least 48" tall (damn them!), and then a little froggy slide for the little ones (they climb up and into the back of the frog's mouth, and then slide down the tongue- very cute). The kids absolutely LOVED it! The slide has water pumped up to the top of it to keep it wet so they slide down incredibly fast. Kaitlyn loves the pool also because she could walk from the slide to the shallowest end and get out all by herself. The downfall is that the floor in the pool area is extremely slippery (something Jack Miller apparently found out the hard way, twice). I had to lay towels down on the floor just for my kids to be able to make it from the pool's edge to the slide's ladder. Seems like they need some mats on the floor! James and Kaitlyn had so much fun in the pool- it's definitely one of the better memories of this trip.
James has found the Light Saber on my phone. It's a stupid app that I downloaded secretly one day to play fight with Nathan with our phones. James thinks it's a game, which it's not, but since he can change the light saber color by moving the sliders, it's all a game to him. When you swing the phone back and forth it makes the light saber noises, and is all accompanied by Star Wars music. I can see why a 4 year old would like this app, but really? A total obsession? Yes, apparently it is for James. He asks to use my phone about 20 times a day. I tell him no most of the time, telling him that I need my phone to make calls, receive calls, etc. but that doesn't seem to sink in to his brain. I'm contemplating getting him a Nintendo DS, or some type of gaming system that has educational games on it for him to play. We'll see. For now though, maybe the light saber app may mysteriously disappear. Ha. One thing that it has also brought out in James is ATTITUDE. An attitude that I despise... bossiness. He told me today, "Mom, you call Dad and then you give that phone RIGHT back to me!"
"EXCUSE ME??? You don't talk to me like that James."
So this brings me to mentioning that Kaitlyn is mimicking me more and more. After this incident with telling James how NOT to talk to Mommy, she started in on him too. She gets this low raspy voice that is apparently her "mommy" voice. "MY turn!" she'll grumble. Or something like, "Do NOT do that!" It's funny, but it also really irritates me. Another thing that irritates me? ME! I let it slip today that something (or someone) was driving me crazy, and James says (while watching Cars on my computer and constantly being interrupted by Kaitlyn's big head in the way), "She's driving me crazy!" Ugh. Sigh. I guess one can never be the perfect parent... and with that, I end this blog... hopefully to wake tomorrow with a better attitude and a replenishment on my patience level. Man I wish I had some BEER. Ha.
The kids fell asleep immediately in the car and slept the whole way again, I even nodded off for a while which was nice but uncomfortable. Ha. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, as these past few days have been. I seem to be exhausted and really really really ready to go home. My patience has run thin, and I basically have none left. When we said bye to Grandma and Papa today (we dropped them off at the airport for their flight to Utah) and I used all my energy not to cry in the car on the way back to the hotel. James was chanting, "Grandma! Grandma!" and I was just about bawling. Pure exhaustion, I think.
The best part about being in Sioux Falls again is the pool at this hotel. We're staying at the Clubhouse hotel on Loise. It has a pool, but it's only 3 feet deep in the deepest part. Why is it so great then? SLIDES! There is one huge slide for kids that are at least 48" tall (damn them!), and then a little froggy slide for the little ones (they climb up and into the back of the frog's mouth, and then slide down the tongue- very cute). The kids absolutely LOVED it! The slide has water pumped up to the top of it to keep it wet so they slide down incredibly fast. Kaitlyn loves the pool also because she could walk from the slide to the shallowest end and get out all by herself. The downfall is that the floor in the pool area is extremely slippery (something Jack Miller apparently found out the hard way, twice). I had to lay towels down on the floor just for my kids to be able to make it from the pool's edge to the slide's ladder. Seems like they need some mats on the floor! James and Kaitlyn had so much fun in the pool- it's definitely one of the better memories of this trip.
James has found the Light Saber on my phone. It's a stupid app that I downloaded secretly one day to play fight with Nathan with our phones. James thinks it's a game, which it's not, but since he can change the light saber color by moving the sliders, it's all a game to him. When you swing the phone back and forth it makes the light saber noises, and is all accompanied by Star Wars music. I can see why a 4 year old would like this app, but really? A total obsession? Yes, apparently it is for James. He asks to use my phone about 20 times a day. I tell him no most of the time, telling him that I need my phone to make calls, receive calls, etc. but that doesn't seem to sink in to his brain. I'm contemplating getting him a Nintendo DS, or some type of gaming system that has educational games on it for him to play. We'll see. For now though, maybe the light saber app may mysteriously disappear. Ha. One thing that it has also brought out in James is ATTITUDE. An attitude that I despise... bossiness. He told me today, "Mom, you call Dad and then you give that phone RIGHT back to me!"
"EXCUSE ME??? You don't talk to me like that James."
So this brings me to mentioning that Kaitlyn is mimicking me more and more. After this incident with telling James how NOT to talk to Mommy, she started in on him too. She gets this low raspy voice that is apparently her "mommy" voice. "MY turn!" she'll grumble. Or something like, "Do NOT do that!" It's funny, but it also really irritates me. Another thing that irritates me? ME! I let it slip today that something (or someone) was driving me crazy, and James says (while watching Cars on my computer and constantly being interrupted by Kaitlyn's big head in the way), "She's driving me crazy!" Ugh. Sigh. I guess one can never be the perfect parent... and with that, I end this blog... hopefully to wake tomorrow with a better attitude and a replenishment on my patience level. Man I wish I had some BEER. Ha.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Onward, to Chamberlain! Happy 4th of July!
On Friday, I woke up at an early 6:50 AM after spending the night with a throwing-up sick child. I was off to shoot senior photos of Jeanne's daughter Claire. After only getting about 5 hours of sleep, I was a bit blurry eyed, but nothing a FEW gigantic coffees couldn't fix. Ha.
I met Jeanne and Claire at Ballereana Dance Studio to start our series of photos. We were supposed to be the only ones there, as Claire had reserved the studio for photos from 8 to 10 AM. No such luck, apparently. There was a Zumba class scheduled for 8:15 AM, and yep, they did their Zumba despite our plans. So... we had to wait. There was no sense in wasting time though, so we shot in a much smaller room that was painted red and had a ballet bar in it. We got some very "moody" shots, and frankly, I'm so excited to see them!
After the Zumba ladies danced their way out of "our" studio, we set up a few fun shots of Claire at the ballet bar there. The window light was there, but nearly unusable because of the dark skies and rain clouds hovering overhead. Jeanne posed as an assistant for me, outside, in the drizzle, holding my amber covered flash. Thanks Jeanne!! ;)
After we finished up at the studio, we shot around Sioux Falls, first at a bridge in the drizzle then at the amphitheatre, then did a few shots downtown at a location that Jeanne had scoped out. We took the last shots at the hotel that I'm staying in, in the lobby. What fun we had!!! I can't wait to work on the images when I get home, I must say that I haven't even peeked at them yet! I'm dying!
I met up with my parents who had taken my kids to lunch at Cracker Barrel, and off we drove to Chamberlain. I think my parents must have sprinkled some Ambien on their grilled cheeses, both of them fell asleep immediately in the car and stayed asleep for two hours to Chamberlain. Kaitlyn was sound asleep, still, when I woke her up at Casey's Welcome West. It was a very relaxing drive.
Aaaahhh, Chamberlain. Easy life, nice people, beautiful river and scenery, and GREAT pie. :) We spent the next few days at Cedar Shore hotel along with a slew of people there to celebrate the 4th of July. Most everyone was able to attend the reunion except Mike Casey and is family. We missed them desperately, and said a blessing and cheered them around the table at Terry and Sharon's house that night before dinner.
We all gathered at Terry and Sharon's house for lasagna and good laughs, and to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They even had a BAR set up outside in their back yard! What an awesome idea!! The kids played their hearts out, and we had such a great time catching up with everyone. Mom and I got to give Terry and Sharon the book that we had worked on together "Fifty Reasons Why We Love Terry and Sharon". We got input from a lot of people in the family for our top 50 reasons why we love them so much. They loved the book, I'm so happy Mom and I got that accomplished!
That night was another restless night for James. He tossed and turned in his bed (and was talking in his sleep) until 3 AM when I finally realized that I should probably give him some Tylenol. That worked... and we all slept comfortably until 7:30 or so. Needless to say, I was a bit of a wench that day... so tired and not really in the mood to celebrate. But, all of that changed as time passed in the day and we had a happy 4th of July. It was great to see cousins and play with everyone, even if we didn't quite get to chat as long as I had wanted.
The kids got to stay up late for the fireworks show. It didn't start until 10:20 and even I was starting to get bleary eyed. The fireworks were great, the kids weren't even scared. They were further away this year than usual, which was a great thing. I think they nearly blew up the marina last year. ;) Ha.
Courtney and me in Chamberlain. Fun fun!
I was giving Kaitlyn cake, and with every bite she would say, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?" from her low tones up to her highest tones.
Mom at the piano at St. James Catholic Church in Chamberlain, SD. They had a mass in celebration of Terry and Sharon's 50th Anniversary, but I wasn't able to attend. :(
Dad, me, James and Kaitlyn on the Cedar Shore marina walkway.
James, Pops, Grandma and Kaitlyn on the dock.
James runs up and down the ramp, fulfilling his need to obsess with ramps on a daily basis.
Mr. and Mrs. Terry Casey. Congrats on your 50th! We love you!
Kevin and kids at Cedar Shore Bar-b-que on the 4th.
Kev and Ben.
Me and Bonna Casey.
Kari (Matt's fiance), Jeanne, Maggie, Molly and me during the bbq.
Kaitlyn saying hi to Sutton.
Run, James, run!
Strong Ben!
Kevin enjoying some sports on the lawn.
Jack and James chillin'.
Cameron giving James a piggy back ride.
Fireworks time! FINALLY!
Happy 4th of July!
Cookie monster.
The old Chamberlain bridge, slated to be demo'd this week. Mom says she remembers this bridge from when she was little.
My parents... this was the view I always had when growing up and riding in the middle seat of the back row. This really cracked Mom up when I told her "this is what I used to see as a kid... the back of your heads." :)
I met Jeanne and Claire at Ballereana Dance Studio to start our series of photos. We were supposed to be the only ones there, as Claire had reserved the studio for photos from 8 to 10 AM. No such luck, apparently. There was a Zumba class scheduled for 8:15 AM, and yep, they did their Zumba despite our plans. So... we had to wait. There was no sense in wasting time though, so we shot in a much smaller room that was painted red and had a ballet bar in it. We got some very "moody" shots, and frankly, I'm so excited to see them!
After the Zumba ladies danced their way out of "our" studio, we set up a few fun shots of Claire at the ballet bar there. The window light was there, but nearly unusable because of the dark skies and rain clouds hovering overhead. Jeanne posed as an assistant for me, outside, in the drizzle, holding my amber covered flash. Thanks Jeanne!! ;)
After we finished up at the studio, we shot around Sioux Falls, first at a bridge in the drizzle then at the amphitheatre, then did a few shots downtown at a location that Jeanne had scoped out. We took the last shots at the hotel that I'm staying in, in the lobby. What fun we had!!! I can't wait to work on the images when I get home, I must say that I haven't even peeked at them yet! I'm dying!
I met up with my parents who had taken my kids to lunch at Cracker Barrel, and off we drove to Chamberlain. I think my parents must have sprinkled some Ambien on their grilled cheeses, both of them fell asleep immediately in the car and stayed asleep for two hours to Chamberlain. Kaitlyn was sound asleep, still, when I woke her up at Casey's Welcome West. It was a very relaxing drive.
Aaaahhh, Chamberlain. Easy life, nice people, beautiful river and scenery, and GREAT pie. :) We spent the next few days at Cedar Shore hotel along with a slew of people there to celebrate the 4th of July. Most everyone was able to attend the reunion except Mike Casey and is family. We missed them desperately, and said a blessing and cheered them around the table at Terry and Sharon's house that night before dinner.
We all gathered at Terry and Sharon's house for lasagna and good laughs, and to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They even had a BAR set up outside in their back yard! What an awesome idea!! The kids played their hearts out, and we had such a great time catching up with everyone. Mom and I got to give Terry and Sharon the book that we had worked on together "Fifty Reasons Why We Love Terry and Sharon". We got input from a lot of people in the family for our top 50 reasons why we love them so much. They loved the book, I'm so happy Mom and I got that accomplished!
That night was another restless night for James. He tossed and turned in his bed (and was talking in his sleep) until 3 AM when I finally realized that I should probably give him some Tylenol. That worked... and we all slept comfortably until 7:30 or so. Needless to say, I was a bit of a wench that day... so tired and not really in the mood to celebrate. But, all of that changed as time passed in the day and we had a happy 4th of July. It was great to see cousins and play with everyone, even if we didn't quite get to chat as long as I had wanted.
The kids got to stay up late for the fireworks show. It didn't start until 10:20 and even I was starting to get bleary eyed. The fireworks were great, the kids weren't even scared. They were further away this year than usual, which was a great thing. I think they nearly blew up the marina last year. ;) Ha.
Courtney and me in Chamberlain. Fun fun!
I was giving Kaitlyn cake, and with every bite she would say, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?" from her low tones up to her highest tones.
Mom at the piano at St. James Catholic Church in Chamberlain, SD. They had a mass in celebration of Terry and Sharon's 50th Anniversary, but I wasn't able to attend. :(
Dad, me, James and Kaitlyn on the Cedar Shore marina walkway.
James, Pops, Grandma and Kaitlyn on the dock.
James runs up and down the ramp, fulfilling his need to obsess with ramps on a daily basis.
Mr. and Mrs. Terry Casey. Congrats on your 50th! We love you!
Kevin and kids at Cedar Shore Bar-b-que on the 4th.
Kev and Ben.
Me and Bonna Casey.
Kari (Matt's fiance), Jeanne, Maggie, Molly and me during the bbq.
Kaitlyn saying hi to Sutton.
Run, James, run!
Strong Ben!
Kevin enjoying some sports on the lawn.
Jack and James chillin'.
Cameron giving James a piggy back ride.
Fireworks time! FINALLY!
Happy 4th of July!
Cookie monster.
The old Chamberlain bridge, slated to be demo'd this week. Mom says she remembers this bridge from when she was little.
My parents... this was the view I always had when growing up and riding in the middle seat of the back row. This really cracked Mom up when I told her "this is what I used to see as a kid... the back of your heads." :)Sunday, July 5, 2009
Onward, to South Dakota!
We said goodbye to the Neiperts and Grandma Marilyn on Tuesday, and when we dropped them off at the airport, Kaitlyn cried. I'm not sure if it was related to the fact that they were leaving, or that she couldn't get out of the car and go with them. She cried and whined for nearly 5 minutes on the way home, so I kept repeating what she was saying. "I'm gonna miss Grandma! I'm gonna miss Bennett! I'm gonna miss Harrison! I'm gonna miss Aunt Beth!" For 5 minutes.
The rest of that evening I spent time packing and getting things ready for our trip to South Dakota. Nathan wasn't able to take more time off of work, so I decided to try traveling with the kids alone. I got us packed along with a bunch of photo equipment to photograph senior photos of my cousin Jeanne's daughter Claire. I can't believe that girl is going to be a senior in high school next year... it seems to me like it was not so long ago that I remember her as a beautiful toddler. Now, here she is, a grown up girl, and still beautiful. I can't wait to work on her photos when I get home.
Anyway, I got side tracked. The kids and I left Florida on Wednesday and headed on Allegiant on a direct flight to Sioux Falls. What a great thing. I heart Allegiant for having direct flights. The plane ride went smoothly, with naps for both kids, and a little iPod action for me. No complaints, really.
After the flight we headed over to my Uncle Todd and Aunt Patty's house for pizza and fruit (and BEER). Jason was there, as well as Kevin and his kids (they were on our flight). We had a good time letting the kids run around outside and play. By the time we got to the hotel, unloaded our bags, changed rooms due to AC problems and then got into bed, the kids were exhausted. I was too. We had a good night of sleep though and were rested for the next day's fun.
On Thursday we had a lazy morning and then headed over to see my Grandma Doris (my dad's mom, and only living grandparent). She is living in an independent living facility in Sioux Falls that is brand new and absolutely gorgeous. I asked her if she was happy there, and she said, "Well if I can't be at my house, this is where I want to be." So that's great. GREAT. She really enjoys being there, and now that she's in Sioux Falls, it's easier for her family to go see her.
Kevin and his kids, my parents and my kids and I went over to her house for the later part of the morning. We were given the grand tour (we even saw where they show movies and play Wii bowling), and then hung out on the lawn in the sun and watched the kids play football and play with rocks. Perfect South Dakota weather. It was hot, but cool enough to be comfortable in the shade.
Great Grandma Doris and 5 of her great grandchildren.
Grandma Doris and Cameron.
Kevin, Grandma and me.
Kevin, Grandma and Ben.
Kevin, Grandma and Jack.
James and Kaitlyn were playing with the rocks, and putting them down in the holes.
Cameron told us that Uncle Todd taught her how to throw the football the right way. Uncle Todd should have been a quarterback I guess because he taught Cam how to LAUNCH the thing. Good job Cam!
After a much needed lunch at Culver's and naps at the hotel, we went BACK to Culver's to get ice cream for the kids. We were on our way to Jeanne's house, so we went through the drive through. I ordered them chocolate shakes, and pleasantly, to my surprise, they were able to make them just like James wanted it... with M&M's in it. What a mess Kaitlyn made in the back seat. I got them shakes in the first place thinking that they would have normal lids on them with straws in them. No, instead, they had lids like you get on a mocha, with the dome and a gigantic hole in the center. Dang. I removed the spoons from the shakes (licked them clean! :)), and left the straws in there and told the kids to drink it through the straw. Alas, as usual, I forgot I was talking to a 2 year old, who didn't pay any attention to my directions and was trying to use her straw as a spoon to scoop it into her mouth. Yep. Chocolate shake... everywhere. Awesome. Of course by the time I had noticed what she was doing it had been long enough for her to drip all over. At that point, there was nothing I could do besides let her finish it. I got the car cleaned up when we got to Jeanne's house. Sigh.
The kids had an excellent time at Jeanne's house jumping on their trampoline and then having a water balloon fight. Fun in the sun! Mom, Molly, Courtney and Jeanne and I sat on the porch and sipped our cold drinks while the kids played. Ryan and Kevin were out throwing the baseball and then had a small soccer game going on with the Hassel girls and Kevin's kids.
At one point, James was left alone playing with the hose that had filled up all of the water balloons. He turned around and said, "Friends? Where did all my friends go?" Oh it was so cute and sad at the same time.
Anna, Maria, Kaitlyn, James, Gabe, Alex, Cameron and Jack fill up water balloons.
Molly and Courtney chilling in SD.
Molly and Mom.
Alex Powell was so much fun for the camera!
Cameron told me about a small spider web near the hose what was covered in droplets, so we photographed it. Good luck seeing the web... :).
For dinner that evening, we were hosted by Dick and Bev for sloppy Joe's. The kids didn't eat much, which turned out to be a problem later in the evening. We had a good time chatting and laughing as usual. When we got back to the hotel, James was complaining of a sore throat so I gave him some ibuprofen and put them to bed. The problem? James was up at 12:30 AM throwing up. He threw up three times in an hour and then finally settled back down for the rest of the night. Poor thing... stupid mama. Never again will I give him ibuprofen on an empty stomach.
This blog is getting long, so I'm going to divide it into parts. Keep reading! :)
The rest of that evening I spent time packing and getting things ready for our trip to South Dakota. Nathan wasn't able to take more time off of work, so I decided to try traveling with the kids alone. I got us packed along with a bunch of photo equipment to photograph senior photos of my cousin Jeanne's daughter Claire. I can't believe that girl is going to be a senior in high school next year... it seems to me like it was not so long ago that I remember her as a beautiful toddler. Now, here she is, a grown up girl, and still beautiful. I can't wait to work on her photos when I get home.
Anyway, I got side tracked. The kids and I left Florida on Wednesday and headed on Allegiant on a direct flight to Sioux Falls. What a great thing. I heart Allegiant for having direct flights. The plane ride went smoothly, with naps for both kids, and a little iPod action for me. No complaints, really.
After the flight we headed over to my Uncle Todd and Aunt Patty's house for pizza and fruit (and BEER). Jason was there, as well as Kevin and his kids (they were on our flight). We had a good time letting the kids run around outside and play. By the time we got to the hotel, unloaded our bags, changed rooms due to AC problems and then got into bed, the kids were exhausted. I was too. We had a good night of sleep though and were rested for the next day's fun.
On Thursday we had a lazy morning and then headed over to see my Grandma Doris (my dad's mom, and only living grandparent). She is living in an independent living facility in Sioux Falls that is brand new and absolutely gorgeous. I asked her if she was happy there, and she said, "Well if I can't be at my house, this is where I want to be." So that's great. GREAT. She really enjoys being there, and now that she's in Sioux Falls, it's easier for her family to go see her.
Kevin and his kids, my parents and my kids and I went over to her house for the later part of the morning. We were given the grand tour (we even saw where they show movies and play Wii bowling), and then hung out on the lawn in the sun and watched the kids play football and play with rocks. Perfect South Dakota weather. It was hot, but cool enough to be comfortable in the shade.
Great Grandma Doris and 5 of her great grandchildren.
Grandma Doris and Cameron.
Kevin, Grandma and me.
Kevin, Grandma and Ben.
Kevin, Grandma and Jack.
James and Kaitlyn were playing with the rocks, and putting them down in the holes.
Cameron told us that Uncle Todd taught her how to throw the football the right way. Uncle Todd should have been a quarterback I guess because he taught Cam how to LAUNCH the thing. Good job Cam!After a much needed lunch at Culver's and naps at the hotel, we went BACK to Culver's to get ice cream for the kids. We were on our way to Jeanne's house, so we went through the drive through. I ordered them chocolate shakes, and pleasantly, to my surprise, they were able to make them just like James wanted it... with M&M's in it. What a mess Kaitlyn made in the back seat. I got them shakes in the first place thinking that they would have normal lids on them with straws in them. No, instead, they had lids like you get on a mocha, with the dome and a gigantic hole in the center. Dang. I removed the spoons from the shakes (licked them clean! :)), and left the straws in there and told the kids to drink it through the straw. Alas, as usual, I forgot I was talking to a 2 year old, who didn't pay any attention to my directions and was trying to use her straw as a spoon to scoop it into her mouth. Yep. Chocolate shake... everywhere. Awesome. Of course by the time I had noticed what she was doing it had been long enough for her to drip all over. At that point, there was nothing I could do besides let her finish it. I got the car cleaned up when we got to Jeanne's house. Sigh.
The kids had an excellent time at Jeanne's house jumping on their trampoline and then having a water balloon fight. Fun in the sun! Mom, Molly, Courtney and Jeanne and I sat on the porch and sipped our cold drinks while the kids played. Ryan and Kevin were out throwing the baseball and then had a small soccer game going on with the Hassel girls and Kevin's kids.
At one point, James was left alone playing with the hose that had filled up all of the water balloons. He turned around and said, "Friends? Where did all my friends go?" Oh it was so cute and sad at the same time.
Anna, Maria, Kaitlyn, James, Gabe, Alex, Cameron and Jack fill up water balloons.
Molly and Courtney chilling in SD.
Molly and Mom.
Alex Powell was so much fun for the camera!
Cameron told me about a small spider web near the hose what was covered in droplets, so we photographed it. Good luck seeing the web... :).This blog is getting long, so I'm going to divide it into parts. Keep reading! :)
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