Love 'em!

I love the big personalities that my kids have. They are both so over the top. I love it.

Tree farm

Yes, we're back. Not really happy about it, but all good things must come to an end.

Today we did something fun. A family tradition of going to get our Christmas tree. We love picking it out, putting it up, decorating it...but I absolutely hate the mess that real trees make. The mess becomes fuzzy in my brain though as the months go by and the sticker shock of a nice artificial sends me back to the tree farm year after year.

So, it's up and it's decorated. The ornaments are clumped in areas at about 34 inches and 42 inches respectively. At about eye level for 2 of my little helpers.

Tomorrow, it's back to reality. Reality = work. Off to bed for me!

Last day....

Good bye Mr. Duck. You are on your own now. Your pool will never be the same after these kids...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Day #7 - Rain

Today, it's rainy and cold (relatively speaking). The thermometer in our car said 68 degrees, but it feels much colder! Trophy Hub, the boys and I headed to the Lego store in Downtown Disney. In the rain. Yes, I'm the genius that came up with it. Sheesh. We didn't stay long. There were gobs of people and it's not like the boys need any more Legos. I'm always cursing the ones we have because they are everywhere. What they can do with Legos just amazes me though!

After Legos, we went to Planet Hollywood for lunch. We thought we heard someone say it's the largest one in the world. I'm guessing it's owned by Sly Stallone because there was a lot of him there! It reminds me a little of the Hard Rock Cafe because it's got so much to look at. It definitely kept the boys entertained! It had 3 levels of dining, kitchens and stuff to look at. Only the first level was in operation, but we went up to check out the stuff.

They had Bruce Willis's shirt from Die Hard. Oh, how I love Bruce Willis. I mean, he's no Trophy Hub, but....dang.

When we got home, I did something unheard of. I took a nap. A 2 1/2 hour nap! It was lovely. I was only awakened a few times by Dora, giggling, talking outside the door and pool splashing outside my window. I'm not complaining, I was happy to sleep...no matter how interrupted it was!

Not sure what's on tap for tonight. If it's something fun I'll post again!

Day #6 (I think) - Animal Kingdom

Today, we visited Animal Kingdom. It was probably the least favorite of ours. That would be because.....the vacation crowds have arrived! We have been spoiled rotten with small crowds and little to no waiting. Today, we were shocked to find ourselves in a sea of people and lines galore. Never in a million gazillion years would I ever want to come to Orlando during a peak season.

Never.

Ever.

Ever.

I'm not a big fan of crowds. Or waiting.

We managed to have some fun though. Imagine that!

We went on a few rides that were fun. Here is a pic of Expedition Everest:

Don't ask Peanut about it though...he didn't care for it much.

Speaking of Peanut, here is a comparison of a nearly 6 year old humans hands to a 6 year old gorilla's! And he has pretty big mitts!

Bubba was pretty content. He got to see giraffes - which are his favorite - during our safari ride. We have walked about 39483762 miles over the last week and he has kept up with us pretty well. He has done a fair amount of shoulder riding on my dad, but for as little as his legs are we still need to give him some props.


Tomorrow has an 80% chance of rain, so I think we're going to hit the I-4 flea market and Beall's. And when I say "we", I don't mean all 9 of us! Probably just my mom and me. And maybe my nieces. I'm way a little excited to not have to keep such a close eye on 8 other people too!

We leave early Friday morning, so we'll probably try to pack up as much as we can tomorrow so we can enjoy Thanksgiving outside since it's supposed to be nicer. The clubhouse in the gated community where we're staying has a really nice pool with a water slide so we may check that our after our not-so-traditional Thanksgiving dinner (brats anyone?).

Day #5 - SeaWorld

Oh, how I love SeaWorld! SeaWorld like most of the other places we have been was landscaped beautifully. We had another gorgeous day! The boys had an absolute ball today, as did the rest of us. There is something for everyone at SeaWorld! The big group split up today for a few hours. I spent time with Bubba in Shamu's Happy Harbor - where they had a ton of little kid rides and fun stuff to do. Peanut and Trophy Hub went to The Polar Express Experience and everyone else went to check out the park's coasters. We caught up with them later and my parents stayed with the boys so Trophy Hub and I could go enjoy the coasters with my brother and nieces. Kraken and Manta were so much fun.

Shamu's show was amazing. When I was a little girl (about Peanut's age) and visited for the first time, I told my parents that I wanted to swim with Shamu. The only thing unappealing about that now is the wetsuit. :-) It was just as amazing to watch as an adult as it was as a child. We have gobs of pics, but I thought this one was neat to share....

We have 14 day passes to SeaWorld, but unfortunately our days are dwindling. We may go back for 1 day or half day if we can squeeze it in.

You know how when your vacation is nearly the end, you start to sort of get excited to go home? Well, that's not the case here. We have all gotten pretty comfy in our posh house and fun-filled days. Each day ends with the kids in the pool and me soaking in the hot tub. Trophy Hub says I like it hot enough to cook pasta and that's about right. Most people can't stand it and leave me for the pool!

Anyway...any guesses on tomorrow? I think it's going to be Animal Kingdom!

Day #4 - Epcot

Guess where we were today?! Epcot was pretty fun. We didn't do a lot there, buy the highlights were Soarin', Turtle Talk with Crush and Test Track. We had another pretty good weather day. It sprinkled a little in the morning and off and on a little bit throughout the day. But...it was warm!
I am sooo glad Peanut is over his fear of the characters. To celebrate, we stood in a long line (probably 30-45 minutes) and got to meet 5 of the characters and get pics with each one. We had a lot of fun meeting Mickey, Pluto, Minnie, Donald Duck and Goofy.
This little boy was having none of it today. He was content to hang with PaPa (my dad). He is definitely on sensory overload. Everything at Disney is loud, dark then really bright, wet, smelly etc. From the very first ride today he was asking if we were coming back to the "Florida house". It was a long day for him....and for me, to be honest.
I wanted Trophy Hub to get a kiss from Minnie...so here he is getting fresh with her. :-) He enjoyed it as much as he looks like he did.

What's planned for tomorrow? I don't know! I didn't want to make the decision - would hate to be perceived as bossy! Who me? Bossy? Nooooooooo.....

Day #3 - Discovery Cove

Today, I got a glimpse into what heaven looks like. Wow, Discovery Cove was beautiful. That is putting it mildly. We had an all inclusive day with a 30 minute dolphin swim. Dolphins are such amazing animals and to be so close to them, to touch them, to feed them was a phenomenal experience. Peanut got to do it with us, but Bubba wasn't old enough. :-( He probably would have gotten hypothermia from the water anyway.

We swam in beach lined pools (very odd, but very cool!) most of the day complete with snorkeling! The lagoon was filled with salt water and brightly colored fish AND sting rays. Honest to God sting rays! Swimming right with us! It was a little scary, but all in all it was just really cool.

Bubba stuck close to me and close to the shallow area. Peanut, on the other hand, was long gone most of the day with Trophy Hub. We had our choice of a wet suit or a vest that kept us warmer in the cooler water and had some floation to them. (All pics of me in a wet suit will be burned. Let's just say you could see where everyone's belly button was. Augh...) Bubba grew quite fond of his wet suit and looked pretty darn cute in it too. See...?
So, what's on tap for tomorrow? Relaxation? No way! Epcot!

Disney Day #2

Today was Disney's Hollywood Studios. This was sooo much fun! Again, the crowds were manageable so we got to do most of what we wanted to do. The Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster were both awesome and worth the trip even if you didn't see or do anything else at the park!

Peanut also seemed to get over his fear of the characters. I'm taking credit for my comparison of them to Halloween costumes for breaking him out of it. Here are the characters from the move "Up". He gave all of them a high five and posed for some additional pics. If you haven't seen it, it is a very good movie (for kids and adults).

We also got to see the Chipmunks, Tigger/Pooh/Eyeore, Mickey, Mr. Incredible/Elastigirl, Minnie, Goofey and Pluto.

Ahhhh, so magical...

Tomorrow, we are laying "low" and going to Discovery Cove. Can't wait!

Disney Day #1

We're heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere! At least Trophy Hub and I look happy to be here. We took a pic with our town paper to send in (if you're wondering why Sam is holding a newspaper). I took a lot of pics today - 178 to be exact - but only 1 had all 4 of us in it. Thanks to Uncle Bubba for taking this one for us!

Let me just tell you...if you are planning on coming to Disney World do it the week before Thanksgiving! We did everything we wanted to do at Magic Kingdom today! The longest we waited in any line was probably 15 minutes and that was only on a few. There were many rides with no wait at all. It was amazing! We got done what takes 3 days during the busy season. The weather was PERFECT. It was about 80...not too hot. Remind me why we live in Iowa?!

Peanut loved Buzz Lightyear and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and didn't care of Space Mountain at all (understatement of the century). He also doesn't like any of the characters, so he kept his distance from them.

Bubba loved Dumbo and the Carousel. He didn't care of Pirates of the Caribbean. He did meet Mickey & Minnie and gave them five!

(Now, those of you who know my boys' personalities know that it's very odd that Bubba would meet Mickey and Peanut wouldn't. Go figure.)

Trophy Hub loved Space Mountain and I liked Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Splash Mountain was pretty fun too!

Tomorrow, we go to Hollywood Studios!

Redeeming myself

So there I sat. At the stop light. And there he was. Again. The same man, with the same sign...asking for...anything. He's broke, hungry, and today it was raining.

The last time I sat at the light, I felt compelled to give him a few dollars. I dug into my purse and...nothing. No cash. Change would be degrading. To me. I'm sure to him, it would be just like his sign said...it would help. Maybe it would get him a warm cup of coffee. But, the light changed and I went on my way.

Today, I looked at him and said a silent prayer. Whatever he had done to get to where he was, please be with him. I reached into my purse and found 3 single dollar bills. I looked at him again. I sat frozen...unable to roll my window down and offer the cold, wet, hungry man the $3. I'm not sure why I couldn't bring myself to do it. Was I afraid of him? Was I afraid of what the other people in the cars would think of me if I did? Would I be feeding some sort of addiction that this man had? Again, the light changed and I went on my way.

I kept thinking of him though. Why was I such a coward? I could have bought him a meal. What if that was someone in my family? So lost and broken? Wouldn't I want someone to feed him if they could? Of course I would.

I believe that God gives us opportunities all the time to redeem ourselves. We may ignore Him, but he will keep showing us the way. It is up to us if we want to follow Him.

A few short hours later, a few miles away, I was filling up with gas. A woman pulled up at the pump across from me. She seemed a bit frazzled, opened her door and said "Excuse me. This is really embarrassing. I work in Iowa City and live in Cedar Rapids. I forgot my wallet at home and I'm on empty. Is there any way that you could spare $3 to I can at least get home?"

I gave her the $3, wished her a good day and went on my way.

On top of spaaaaaaaghetti

Tonight I made some fabulous meatballs. The boys and I gobbled them up. Here is all I did:

1 lb lean ground beef

Worcestershire sauce (not sure how much, maybe 1 T?)

Onion Onion (again, not sure how much)

How do you make meatballs?

Don't let my subject mislead you. I didn't serve these over spaghetti! I just made some tigger tails with butter (parkay spray for me!) and shredded Parmesan cheese. And of course cantaloupe for "dessert".

I'm a chicken!

This was me at work this week.

I hate that feeling.

No matter how much extra I worked, I couldn't seem to get caught up. It is one of our busiest times of the year and I'm trying to cram what normally takes a month into 2 weeks because of my upcoming vacation.

My vacation?

I'm glad you asked!!

Ok, so anyone that's been within 20 feet of me in the last month knows that we are leaving WEDNESDAY for Florida! Yippee! There are nine of my family members going.

Yup, I said NINE.

For NINE days.

In a big ole house. This house, actually.

Ok, I'm done rubbing it in.

We will be there over Thanksgiving. I suggested (although I love the food!) to forgo the traditional meal and have fajitas. Or hamburgers. Or just some mangoes. We may have Thanksgiving on Christmas. After all, the holidays are about family, not about food. Right? Right!

The boys are pretty excited about going. But to be honest, they have no clue what they're in for. Peanut asked me about a month ago (while holding his piggy bank) if all the rides at Disney cost a quarter. How stinkin' sweet is he?

HuHot

Tonight we had a wonderful early celebration at HuHot for Bubba's 3rd birthday (his actual b-day is tomorrow). My parents, nieces, brother and MIL met us for supper, gifts and cake. Why HuHot? Bubba absolutely loves it. See...?

Here is Bubba's first look at his Blue's Clues cake. I think he approves!
This is my first character cake. (Sorry the pic below is a little dark - my flash wasn't cooperating last night when I took it.) Don't look too close because you will see many, many flaws. It took me hours - a true labor of love. But...I had a ball doing it and I learned a lot on what I would do differently before tackling one for Peanut next month.

A post for women only

Ladies,

Have you ever stopped doing laundry, dishes, vacuuming, dusting, mopping and just thought....

"Damn, I wish I had a wife."

Comfy?

Quote of the day

"I feel better now. I just needed to fart."

- Peanut, age 5