Jet Lag

Whew! 6 fun filled days at Disney, in combination with 2 days of flying with a little bit of a lingering cold, can really tucker a girl out! However, I can never get enough Disney! Seeing the kids experience things for the first time, and find the Disney magic is just so cool.
For most of the "big" rides you have to be 40in tall. Noah is 39. I was going to try and sneak him through. They stopped us on them all, and their measuring system is a little off. Their bar was well 2in over his head and I measured him just before we left and I know he did not shrink on the way to Fl. Well, when we got to Kali River Rapids, the requirement was only 38in. We walked up, Noah stood proud and tall at the measuring bar. The guy working the entrance then said, "ok little man give me your hand for a stamp and you need to wear this bracelet". Noah's eyes got so big, and in his loud booming, full of pure Disney magical excitement, he says, "Does this mean I get to go?!!" I reply with the confirmation, and boy did he look like he was walking 4 inches taller. He loved the ride so much, we rode it 4times in a row. Yes, the crowds were light, and we didn't even get off the ride. 4 times around the rapids. He was in heaven. His first "big" ride. Later I saw a shirt in the star wars area that read on the front, "Measure me by my size, do you?" and on the back was a pic of the measuring bar with mickey ears hanging on it. I almost bought it for Noah, but unfortunately they didn't have his size.

Caleb was so funny. He loved seeing Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy (which Caleb says OOF-ee). He would squeal with delight but would only get about 1ft away from them. He didn't want to hug them like Noah does. Caleb just handed them his autograph book, and squealed! It was so cute. Mickey and Buzz were by far his favorite. He danced when the parades came through and kept a huge smile on his face. I have to say the kid is so cute that the characters and performers would always find him, come over and just entertain the kid! He was a pro at the Crystal Palace, where we dined with the characters. He joined in the parade and walked around like a champ. It is hard to believe that just a year ago, he was at Disney, only three months old, wearing his brace, and not crawling or walking, just slobbering! WOW!

Not only did the kids have a great time, but Kev and I did too. We got to have some great company to join us (some of a great great friends from SC met us there) and we got to catch up over a nice game of farming fury! HEE HEE!! If you have never played The Farming Game, well you are missing out on a heated game of hard core sarcastic threats over cherry crops, cows, and hay! Love it!!

The first couple of days were great; welcoming warm sunshine and humidity. However, this quickly turned south, when a cold front moved in and gave us temps in the 50's! I packed tank tops and shorts - not long sleeves, pants and jackets. This just gave me a good excuse to get some really cute Mickey gear!

On a sour note: We were 3 days into our vacation, at Epcot, seeing "the world". I am doing my usual, snapping pics. When something happened. I don't know what happened, but something did, cause it made me move my arm in a very quick downward motion. Well, the wrist strap on my camera, which was attached to my wrist, very securely I might add, was no match for the force of the downward motion of my arm. The camera flew off of my wrist and yes, yes, it smashed into the ground. I have only had this camera for 3 months!!! I pick it up. YES, it is still working! It worked fine the rest of the evening. The next day however was a different story. Giving the camera a break was what it needed to finish it's job and completely break. BOO camera BOO! Thank goodness for disposable cameras and my iphone. It helped us finish out the vacation with somewhat passable pictures. At least I have memories somewhat captured, right?

So, now we are back in AK. Watching the snow pile up, and getting ready for the holidays. Thanksgiving is HERE??!!! Wow!
Just a few things I am thankful for:
my God, my husband, my kids, my health, my husband and kids health, my family, my friends, where I live, and so many more abundant blessings God has bestowed on me and my family.
This is such a great time for reflection and appreciation. Remember what this holiday is about and give thanks and be thankful.

I would be VERY thankful if someone would help me clean my house! Any takers??? :)-

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

Some of my favorites

Little brother in on the action

Noah's 4yr old portraits. Can you believe it, 4 years??!!

Lately....

*Noah turned 4

*Caleb learned to count to 5

*I have had photo shoots almost every weekend and am booked into December!

*We are preparing to visit DisneyWorld

*We had a birthday party for Noah with firefighter Kevin (aka Daddy)

*I learned to knit, somewhat, I finished a hat for Caleb, but it was too small.

*Noah now uses the big people seat belt in his new booster car seat

*Caleb says "cool"

*Kevin has been flying like crazy

*I have been swimming at least 2-3 times a week - learning to swim efficiently is tough

*Caleb is asking to go potty and has succeeded at the "poo-poo" (once) - I know you all love to read about bathroom experiences!

*Caleb was a zebra and Noah was a dragon for Halloween

*maybe, just maybe pics will come later.

In a flash

My October has been insane. I can't believe it's gone, almost.

I'm still check my blog. I just never have a chance to just sit and write my thoughts.

Have a very busy weekend.

I will not say that I hope it slows down, cause let's just face it. Every time I say that, life speeds up.

Goodbye Oct.

Sporadic

Here I am again....yep no regularity. Just when I can. I really don't have time to be typing this out but I will forget some funny things if I don't.

Noah ran into the living room last Friday night yelling, "There is a deer in our tree! There is a deer in our tree!" There is a tree that is right in front of the window in the front yard. I reassure Noah, that there are not typically deer around, but then WAIT, IT'S A MOOSE! Kids run to the window! There it was a baby moose, yes a baby, eating the branches out of our tree. Let that run by you again.....a baby moose eating the branches out of the tree. Yes, the babies are huge! So, we were wandering, if that is the baby, where is the momma? Hmmmm. We walk to the back of the house, oh and look. There she is. She was right at our back yard. If we didnt have a fence she would have been in our yard.
Well, we were watching Murphy, Krista's dog. She was there picking him up taking in the moose watching as well. Then the light bulb goes off over Krista's head - I will let Murphy see the moose. uhhhmmm, yeah. It took Krista and Kevin pulling on Murphy to get him back in the house, cause ya see, those moose looked like fun for chasing and Murph was going fetch one.
So, ya know we went in the dining room to watch out the back window to see mama moose. Well, Kevin goes in the back yard, closes the door - Murphy stays in the house looking out the window with me, the kids, and Krista. Well in all the excitement, Noah left the window and went out back with his daddy and DID NOT close the door. So, Murphy saw this and darted out the back door. Krista and I were so wrapped up in Caleb's excitement at the mama moose, that we freak out when we see Murphy - flying through the back yard, jumping on top of our four ft fence, to get him some mama moose. Then we see Kevin sprinting after Murphy all while mama moose looks like the fence is small potatoes, she is going have some labrador. Well, mama moose decides she is going get baby moose instead of Murphy, since Murphy is being pulled back by a mud covered Kevin, cause you see, it is the rainy season here and our backyard is a swamp, and sprinting in a swamp, well that just gets messy. Oh the excitement random moose bring to our lives. Krista now knows, Murphy and a friendly romp with a moose just don't mix. :)

I have my first girl's night coming up. I am so excited!! No husbands, kids, just the girls. Now all my friends back in SC know how important we take girls nights. This is my first one since SC! I am very ready. The hubbys are going to men's retreat, so we all thought, no better time than this to take advantage of girl time.

Our new nephew should be arriving any day now, hopefully today. Noah and I were making a Christmas present for Andrew. Noah kept saying "but I don't know him". Finally he starting getting it and saying, "William is going to be a big brother like me?" and "I will be older than Andrew", and lots more things. It was sweet. He is wanting to meet him really bad, so let's get on the ball Jillina! hee hee. UPDATE: Baby Andrew arrived safely Friday morning Oct 3. He and parents are doing great. Can't wait to meet you little guy!!!

Noah is still loving school. I have pictures where they had a little party for Johnny Appleseed's bday. They had a little parade and had an all out apple day. It was cute.

Caleb has become quite the talker (big surprise!) and all around meanie. He got put in time-out 3 times last night in his bible class at church. Apparently, his teachers are letting his cuteness get in the way! Looks like Caleb is going to present to me some parenting challenges I never had to face with Noah. Yay me. Yipee. Woo hoo. seriously. Right now I am the mom of the 1.5yr old bully. :(

I have pics to post but not today, I am already running behind. So later.........

Where have I been?

As soon as I got back from Hawaii I hit the ground running.

Meetings at church, craft project hell, and now a speaking engagement. WHAT!

So, I agreed to be on a committee at church and thought I would help out this program by making a wall organizer to help them out. No big deal. Jo Ann's is a crafter's friend. So, for 3.5 days I channeled the craftiness of my SIL and BFF to get this out like it looked in my head. Sometimes I get these great ideas, and um yeah, they don't turn out looking like what my brain imagined.

So here it is......

It looks way better in person. The pockets are on a denim background. I think I actually did a good job this time. So, after I finished this I had to start working on the topic to be discussed at the ladies night out, which is tonight, the same night this wall dealie-o had to be completed.

I have never spoke at any function, so please pray for me. I am gonna need it. Sheesh.

So, I am starting to feel the busyness of life. Noah has school 3 days a week, I try to fit in the gym while he is at school, the ladies functions, squadron functions, teaching at church, and trying to make time for kids, husband, and miscellaneous items to make for school, church, and home. Oh and I met with a personal trainer today, cause I am gonna do a triathlon. Yeah, that's right. I have gone crazy.

However, this personal trainer is exactly what I needed. I have hit my plateau and I have tried and tried to get over it, with no success. He and I worked together for about an hour this morning and I feel like I fell down a mountain. Ya know, like on tv, when folks go tumbling down a mountain and they just keep flipping, and pounding into the ground. And when the tumbling is over you know that person is gonna be in some serious pain. That would be yours truly today. URGH! However, I asked for it.

So, I will try to get Skinny Tuesday back up and going. Hopefully after tonight I can get back into a groove. It is bad, when my BFF calls me and says, "uhm, are you ok, cause you are not updating your blog". Ok, my bad. I am the blog pooper here lately and I won't promise but I will try to get a little better.

Friday is out, cause that is Johnny Appleseed's birthday and we are having a party! hee hee. Seriously, we are!

Hawaii

There are not enough words for this vacation. Our room was terrible, but hanging out with my boys on the beach can make up for anything. Kevin had to work all but a day and a half, but we made the most of it. I love Oahu. Noah learned how to use a boogie board, and Caleb did a little body surfing with his momma. I am sufficiently sunburned, hopefully enough to avoid skin cancer but give me a little color through the Alaskan winter. I can't wait to go back!
Here is a little summary of all the fun we had and places we visited:

Honolulu Zoo
Dole Plantation
Matsumoto Grocery - best shaved ice in the world
Waikiki beach
North Shore beaches
Duke's - great place to eat
Hanging out with the Cosme's
Snorkeling on the North Shore
Luau at Paradise Cove

The boys gave it all they had and are sufficiently worn out. We got home about 2am this morning. The boys and I were waiting for Kev to bring around the car to load it up and when Kev drove up N had a break down. Apparently, N loved our rental car soooo much he was devastated that we did not have it in Alaska. Amidst all the tears he told us he wanted us to sell the van and by a SUV. It was so funny! Bless his little heart, he loves those rentals.
We can't wait to go back!