Forgot to mention this...

but really thought this was a really funny memory from our trip. The day we were at the private island, owned by the cruise ship, the men walked around and collected seashells while us girls were reading. When we got back to the ship Jeff showed me all the shells he found. One of the shells had a hermit crab inside of it. Jeff thought it was dead but as I was sitting at the desk to get ready for dinner (it was formal night) the hermit crab start crawling across the desk. I freaked out! We both thought it was dead but it was so very ALIVE! Not sure what my hubby did with it after that. We both thought if we could get it home it would of been the coolest gift for the kids. Not too many people can say they have a hermit crab from a beach in the Bahamas!

We're BACK!

It was amazingly awesome! I loved it. Just for prosperity I want to blog our cruise trip to the Bahamas. The first day Jan 31st we got up super duper early (4am) and got ready for the airport. My dad and step mom came at 4:45am. Roberta stayed with the kids while my dad took us to the airport. We woke the kids up to tell them goodbye, they wanted us too, well except for Peanut we let her sleep. Before our plane took off we called the kids to tell them good morning. We got to the boat at about noon. Us on the bus to the boat!

We ate lunch at the buffet and then went to our rooms. We went with another couple from church who have been on many cruises so they were our guides. We explored the boat, except for Kristy she napped, I was too excited to sleep as I have never been on a boat before and I wanted to see it. We played shuffle board to kill time before dinner and it was actually really fun. Though I was always on the winning team :) The sunset was beautiful and we got a picture with it...

That night I did not feel the greatest. I think the food was not what my body was used to and I was tired from the long day of travel. BUT the food was so yummy. The second day we went to the cruise lines own private beach. It was super nice though the sun kept going behind the clouds and it would be a little cold for swimsuits. Jeff and I got a picture with our feet in the ocean.

Just me in the ocean

The view from our beach chairs
We also found some hammocks to sit in the shade!
Us kissing in the hammock :)
We ate lunch on the island and these were flying so close we could reach our hand up and touch one! Kristy kept screaming when they got too close. Then the guys started feeding them, that's when I exited. They started getting way too close for my comfort!

After we ate we walked around the shops for a little bit and then headed back to the boat for a nap. After the first night of not feeling great because I was tired I decided I should really take a nap. This is us on the tender to get back to our boat. It was so beautiful outside. ALL. THE. TIME.

The guys walked around the boat while the girls slept. That night we went to the show for the boat and it was a comedian who was actually pretty funny! A little crude but not too bad. This is the room where the main entertainment happened.

Then we went to the battle of the sexes in a different room on the boat and I hate to report that the men won. They had so many different activities to do at night that we had to pick and choose. We never did any of the dancing at nights, maybe next time?! The next day (Day 3) we stopped at Nassau, Bahamas and were docked all day long. Jeff and I went parasailing while we were there and it was really quite amazing. Us getting ready to go up...

Us going up and up
Us way up in the sky!

Half way through the ride up there they bring you down and dip your feet in the ocean and then bring you back up high. It was so peaceful up there. This is us right after we came down. Look at our smiles :)

After parasailing we ate lunch just the two of us and then we did our shopping for souvenirs at that port. I also got to lay out at the pool and read my book some more, Kristy and I did this the day before at the beach. This night was my absolute favorite. After the main show, which was a juggler, they did the newlywed game which Jeff and I tried to get on it. And then another game called Quest. That was pretty interesting. We didn't play we just watched. We also did the rock wall before all of that started. No pictures of that though. Then the last day Thursday we cruised all day and night. Since we were on the boat the whole day we just took it easy. After breakfast Kristy and I laid by the pool and read. Then we took a dip in the pool and then read some more. The guys came and got us for lunch. After lunch Kristy took a nap and I went back up to the pool to get some more sun and read. The guys went to see the comedian again, they said he was way worse this time with his jokes. At 4pm we all met and did a flip video scavenger hunt. I am happy to report that we won that scavenger hunt and each got medals. It was actually really fun playing it and then watching it! Then it was the main show, dinner and a little gambling in the casino which I lost all the money I played with :( But it was fun nonetheless and I didn't play with very much money. Then we packed up our bags and went to bed. The next morning it was debarking the boat and heading home. We spent most of our day in the airport. I loved coming home to the kids excited to see us. It took Peanut about an hour after we got home, and the only one who asked, if we got her a present! They all loved the clothes we got them. Here they are all smiling with their new duds. This is also going to have to stand as the first picture of the 4 kids this month!
It was so nice to be away with my husband alone for these last 5 days. I really do enjoy his company. I am thinking we need to make a more conscientious effort to go away together. I highly recommend taking a cruise vacation. It is a great way to travel the world internationally!

Not starting out very good...

I was hoping to update more than I have been but things just get busy with 4 little munchkins running around! One thing I have realized is that unless they are sleeping their little mouths are talking. They are watching a movie right now and two of the three are talking while it is playing. OY. The kids and I made it through this weekend verily well, which gives me a little hope for the 9 days Jeff is planning on being gone to Canada with his dad this summer. I have already told Jeff I am taking them on some sort of trip. I need to keep them busy and entertained or it will not be good for any of us. I need to start planning the trip we are planning on taking with Jeff's side of the family. I think it would be great to have a half way meeting place with stuff for all the kids to do. We are planning on camping somewhere half way between his brother and us. I just don't want another summer that goes by that we didn't do some kind of vacation.

relaxation

so the opposite of my last post. HA. J and I are small group leaders at our church. A couple in our group has a cottage (well it is actually his grandmas) so this past weekend our small group went to there for a retreat. We had so much fun. Though we were missing one couple because they had prior commitments and another couple who is going to be joining us was unable to come as well. Once we got there we unloaded and then headed out to lunch. After lunch we went to a pumpkin farm and walked around. We got hot cider and I got some apple butter that I am really excited to try out. There was this really cool hay maze where you could only make right turns and it took them forever 20 minutes to figure out!!! It was really fun to watch. We went on a hayride and then left. After that we headed to a food market and did a little food shopping for dinner. I got some food for me to eat for breakfast and I'm glad I did other wise I would of been starving before lunch. We went back to the cottage and played a couple of games before we started dinner. The girls won the first game and the boys won the second. We grilled out for dinner and then did our Bible study. Then two of the couples left and the rest of us hung out and talked and tried to play a couple more games but we were laughing so hard and getting too tired to try and function well enough to play said games. The next morning the men went golfing and us women were suppose to sleep in but I just couldn't stay in bed past 8:15 so annoying. It didn't help that I really had to pee. When the guys got home we left for lunch and to head home. Our trip was a little longer than planned but I won't go into those details!

Once we got home we got the kids and did a few errands and left town again. We pulled the kids out of school for Monday and Tuesday. J had a career fair in the town we used to live so we thought it would be fun to bring all the kids to visit. On Monday we met with Ted and Jo and their two boys for a play date. I also got to see my old boss at the YMCA. Then we went to the store to grab some food for lunch and get some snacks for the room. While the two little kids took naps I sat in the hall with the older two and we worked on getting their school work done. We almost got it all done but the kids were wearing out after 3 hours of work. I was telling them that this is work that they do in 8 hour days for two days. Then Red woke up and we started working on his school work. He only has a few pages to color and he is done. I am hoping to get the other two kids work done tomorrow while the other kids nap again. We'll see!!!

A few minutes

I had a little time yesterday to go through some of the pictures on the DVD we got at Disney all the other pictures are being held captive at our old house on our big computer. One day I hope to get them back. So without further ado here are some I thought were cute but I didn't get to go through all 300 of them!


I also wanted to take this time to document how wonderful my hubby is. Last week he told me that his parents wanted to have us over for lunch on Sunday. Nothing out of the ordinary there. We went over and his mom made a yummy lunch like always. Then we put the kids down for some naps. He had mentioned to me that he was going to ask his parents to watch the kids so we could go out and talk about all the things that are going on with us right now. Well at about 2:30 he comes to me and says, "Are you ready to get going?" I thought for sure we were just going to hang out around the house because a football game was on. We got in the van and he started driving. I asked where we were going and he hands me an envelope. I was being to wonder at this point what is going on! I open it and inside is tickets to see Blue Man Group at 4pm. I was so shocked. I kept saying."Is this for real? Are we really going to see them?" He told me it was my birthday present...which my birthday is at the end of the month and it is my golden birthday and he has already made it a special one! I love him so much and I love that he did that for me. Last year for my 30th he threw me a surprise party. I love being fussed over on my birthday and he does a great job :) The best part it isn't my birthday yet...

Disney

Now that the dust as sort of settled around here with getting back from vacation and then starting school I finally have some time to talk about the trip we took to Disney almost 2 weeks ago. That morning we woke the kids up by telling them to get up and dressed we are going to Disney! Their faces were so cute. We got there at 12:30 on Saturday the 6th. By the time we got a bite to eat and put our luggage in our room we were at Magic Kingdom by 2:30ish. We went straight for the buzz lightyear spin but it was closed. The kids told us that was the first ride they wanted to go on, oh well. Right next to it is was a newer attraction that wasn't there the last time called Laugh Floor from Monsters, Inc. The first character that the kids got to meet was buzz lightyear Peanut did better than I thought she would be so was a little nervous about him. We spent the rest of the day there and there was magic hours until 1am. Since we had been up since 5:30am we decided that we would leave before it was all closed. The second day we got up and headed back to Magic Kingdom. That is my favorite park out of the four! I really don't remember which park we went to which day unless I have pictures to show for them and we are waiting for the cd of pictures of our trip. We went to all 4 parks and did almost everything possible to do at each one meaning our days were busy and fast paced! Here are some of the high lights I would like to remember from this trip.
* Peanut going on her first air plane ride! Though Monkey threw up while we were landing on the way there, so not fun.
* sleeping in a bed for a week was so nice.
* Jeff was in the Indiana Jones stunt show and I have a video of him doing the dying scene! Kids thought that was super cool.
* GG getting picked to talk during the Laugh Floor but I missed it because Peanut had to use the bathroom but just hearing her tell about it was all the excitement I needed to make it a memory.
* Red being talked to by the army men from Toy Story during the parade at Hollywood Studios. Red had on a camouflage shirt and the guy pointed him out and said, "I like your camouflage but it isn't doing you any good right now because I can see you. I bet if I stuck you in the forest I wouldn't see you at all." His face was the best part of that interaction!
* all the yummy food we ate!
* meeting Tinker Bell even though it was the longest we waited for anything that whole time!
* The character meals were really fun too.
* all the rides that they kids were able to go on this time that they were too short to go on last time, like the Rock N Roller-coaster (GG and Monkey) and Tower of Terror (Red).

Those are my high lights though the whole trip was a complete blast! The kids did a great job walking and not complaining too much since it was over 95 degrees most days with a high humidity level. And I don't even think they fought one time!

Camping

This weekend we went camping about 40 minutes away from our house. It was so much fun and I felt the best I have in the longest time! Praise the Lord. I feel like we are getting closer and closer to figuring my health issues all out. Yay. I didn't bring my camera camping but my mom-in-law did so I will maybe steal some pictures from her facebook page or maybe not, we'll see. I was a little nervous about the weekend because it rained most of Friday and stopped about 3:30pm. We got to the camp site around 5pm and set up camp then went to grab a bite to eat.

When we got back my in laws showed up and set up their tent in the site right next to yours. We made a big fire and sat around and talked and laughed. The kids watched a movie in the tent so us adults could talk with less interruptions. It worked out great. About 50 minutes after we got in the tent it started to rain. I know this because I was awake from all the noises going on around us. One guy decided that 11 something at night was a good time to chop his fire wood. Um...so not cool. Then there was some cat whistling going on it was just interesting but as soon as the rain came it all stopped!!! The kids woke up super early the next morning. It was before 7am so not heard of in our family. I know you hate me, sorry. We got up and had eggs, donuts, and bananas. Then walked down to the beach for some fishing, way too cold to swim. GG caught 2 small fish, Monkey caught one, and Red got really good at casting with his pole. Peanut played at the park at the beach. Then we went back for lunch time and nap time! I slept good. Though we missed the family hayride, oh well. We just hung around by the fire until it was dinner time. Liz and her boyfriend David (Davey, hahaha) showed up just in time for food we ate hotdogs, brats, and spaghetti with garlic bread. Making the garlic bread was pretty funny over the fire but that is what making memories are all about! That night we told stories and had smores around the fire. David and Liz slept in the kids tent so J and I just had Peanut in our tent.

The next morning I had eggs and the kids had pancakes. We packed up all our stuff and we went back down to the beach for one last time fishing. Then we left and went out to eat for lunch.

Some of my favorite moments/quotes of the trip:
"Oh I'm farting"
"Where's my nuts"
"You have to kiss your worm before you put it on the hook"
All the camp fire stories too many funny lines from them we had a 4 year old participating.
"Come with me to the bathroom and push the shower button while I poop"
J pretending to cut off his finger with the ax while chopping wood and using ketchup for the blood. We got a video of his sister's reaction! We love you Liz :)

It was an all around great weekend and I want to continue this tradition with my in-laws they are so fun to be with.

This past weekend

We went out of town with some friends and had a blast! I have pictures that I am not going to have time to upload tonight, maybe tomorrow. This weekend consisted of driving, the beach, sand castles, playing cards, mini golf, sand dunes, movie, huge bonfire at the beach, s'mores, and just an all around good time! On the way home I dropped J and the two oldest off at US Cellular park to watch the White Sox game and then I got lost in downtown for a good 30 minutes and 10 calls to my father in law later and I was on the right road again.

Peanut happenings: we have soft ball games every Monday night this summer and the park that they play doesn't have a bathroom anywhere around. So I have had to learn how to let her pee in the woods. Well now anytime we go outside and she has to pee she pulls her pants down and wants to go right there! Another side effect of having her potty trained is she undresses so many times a day. I got her dressed 6 times the other day before I finally gave up and told her to put her own clothes on. If you are a facebook friend you know how she puts her swim suit on well that is the same way she gets herself dressed. She put both legs in one whole and then pulled them up to her waist but none of it was covering her private parts.

Single parenthood starts today...

The plan was to go on my dad's boat today but that got changed by the weather. No fun to be on the water in the rain. Before J left he gave me a coupon for 2 hours free bowling, free shoe rental and a free pitcher of pop. I called my dad and he said that sounded like a good alternative plan so bowling we went. My friend Amy came too, she was planning on going on the boat as well. The first game Red got a strike and was the highest score for the kids with 100. The kids all used bumpers. The second game Monkey beat everyone playing even my dad with a score of 133. he was so proud of that score and he should be! After bowling we came back to my dad's house for some ice cream and a nap for Peanut. My dad got nap too. Amy and I got to talk and the kids watched some tv...there really isn't anything for little ones to do at my dad's house. As soon as Peanut woke up from her nap we took the kids to see the movie UP. It was pretty cute though Red got really scared a few times. We also got to talk to J and see him on the webcam in Minnesota. I have the hotel number so I will be able to call him tonight before the kids go to bed! The next nights he left letters for me to read to them before bed since he will be out of cell phone range. Our week is pretty busy with activities so hopefully that will help the time fly by and us not miss daddy so much. Let our adventure begin :)

Disney!

If I talk Disney a lot on here well it is because I'm excited about going. Peanut and I leave in 8 days! And the best part is the weather is suppose to be about 78/75 the first two days we are there. My dad and I just got done booking our hotel, we had to stay off grounds because all the reasonably priced places were booked up which makes me a little nervous about the crowds that will be there. We got 5 nights for under the price of one night on the grounds. It will be fun no matter where we stay! The only thing left to do before we leave is get a rental car. Then we get there we will buy tickets for the places we want to go. I am thinking Sea World and Universal along with Magic Kingdom but we'll see we have a layover on the way there so we can talk plus the flight will give us time too. After all the hotel searching and booking we went out to eat and met my brother Travis and step mom Roberta and my friend Kristin and her two youngest went with us. It was fun. The kids got these stinky things from the vending machines. They are so gross but they loved them. Red made a few more dollars from scratching grandpa's head for his Disney spending money...hahaha. J and I were talking about how much we were going to give the kids to spend in Disney last night and I'm just not sure how much is enough and how much is too much. Good thing we have about 7 months to decide. Any suggestions or tips on Disney would be greatly appreciated.

A Day of Friends!

This morning we got up and I made a quick call to one of Monkey's friends and we were on our way to pick him up and meet GG and Red's friends at an indoor play place. There is also a baby girl in their family that Peanut was playing near but not really with! I forgot to bring my camera but the kids had great fun together. The 4 older kids included the two 3 year olds in their play which was so nice. Naturally when the place closed at noon none of the kids wanted to leave each other. We took Monkey's friend home and came home and ate lunch. Then the two little ones took naps. GG and Monkey did a great job staying quiet so that they could sleep.

After dinner GG and I jumped into the car for mom/daughter playdate with her friend Crafty and my friend Kristin. I was totally going to bring my camera but as we were half way there I realized I forgot it. Kristin to the rescue she brought hers :) We didn't tell the girls were we were taking them all they knew was that they got to see each other. On the way GG kept trying to get me to tell her what we were doing and where we were going. I did end up telling her the name of the place so she could help me find it. It is called Color Me Mine and she said, "Color Me Mine? What kind of place is that? That is a funny name." It was really funny the inflection she had in her voice too! As soon as we pulled into the parking lot and she could see in the store she squealed, "Oh I love this kind of a store!" I just went to see if I could pull some pictures from her site and she has updated yet so I will post them when I get them. I want to leave you with this funny video of Red that we took on Sunday. I feel like I must mention before this video was taken Monkey ate a war head and Red saw his reaction to the sourness of it and he still wanted to try it! My sister in law took the video and when he runs out he is running to me and his dad...

The Last of the Vacation posts!

Monday we got up and packed the vehicles. Then we headed to the State Park for a hike. Of course, I have pictures!

After the hiking we went to a place to eat that has goats on the roof. I forgot what the name of it was and I really don't feel like calling the parents for find out. But it was the only restaurant with grass on the roof with goats walking around! Red was so excited to go to this place all day. He really wanted to drink goats milk but they didn't have any, but they did have goat cheese which he and the other kids got to taste. It was a dark yellow almost brown colored cheese. The kids all liked it though :) Our waitress looked like our friend Monica so we asked to take a picture with her!
We also found this really cool sign along the side of the road and took these pictures for our friends with that last name!
Before we left Door County we did some shopping. We stopped at a Confectionery (we got some candy), kite store (dad bought each of the kids a new kite), rock store (for J), and clothing store. I got J a t-shirt that says Love Handles and the picture is two controllers for the playstation! I got a t-shirt that says Ruff Night with a picture of a dog, and I found the best onesie for Peanut but they didn't have it in her size. It said Can you hear me now? With a baby's mouth wide open. Everywhere we went to eat people commented on how much of a chatter box she is and if you don't pay attention to her she squeals until you look at her, to which she gives you the cutest, sweetest little smile. What a stinker. Needless to say that would of been prefect for her. Grandma found one that said I have my fussy pants on. I didn't like it as much but it was probably the second best choice! We then left for home. We got home around 10pm that night. It was a good time and certainly was memorable. That ends our trip...

Vacation Part 2...

Saturday morning we all went shopping in Egg Harbor. GG and Monkey came away with that experience with Webkinz. GG has been wanting one of those for almost a year now. Of course, that made her day. We went back to our townhouse for lunch and the men left for golfing. I put the two little ones down for a nap and Grandma took the older two to the pool for some swimming. They came back an hour later and Red was still sleeping so we switched. We ended up meeting the guys at the place for dinner because they had a rain delay golfing and it took them almost 6 hours to golf 18 holes. Then we went to Wilson's for ice cream. Yum Yum. I didn't take any pictures from this day.

Sunday the men got up early and went golfing and Grandma and I packed a picnic lunch and headed to the near by beach. Now I have lots of pictures from the beach!

Peanut and I in the sand, see I was there! That is my new Land's End swimsuit. Love it. Grandma took some other pictures of me and Peanut in the water but I'm bending over and you see too much cleavage for my blog *blush*

I think this picture is so funny because it looks like she is going to stand up and walk but after I took it she fell right on her bottom!

GG playing in the sand and having fun!

Red found a big stick by the shore line and was really proud of his find :)

Grandma buried the boys in the sand! They look like they are naked.

Monkey buried Peanut in the sand...

Her escaping!

Monkey showing me his sandy hands after burying his sister!

Peanut in the water...finding rocks...to eat!

See what I found mom? Now, I'm going to eat them!

The older kids in the water with grandma. Red really took a liking to grandma see him grabbing for her hand?!

Silly Girls!

After the men were done golfing they came by the beach. We had been there about 3 hours, so we packed up the troop and headed back to the "hotel" as the kids called it. Us ladies changed and handed the kids over to the men and off we were to go SHOPPING! With. No. Kids. I got some really cute things but I don't have any pictures. Then we met them all at the restaurant we were eating at for the evening. I asked J to bring the camera but forgot to tell him I brought the extra battery, so he brought the camera but the batteries were dead. The reason I wanted the camera was to get a picture of the fish boil at the restaurant. Oh well. I probably would of taken a picture of the kids faces anyway. The fish boil was pretty neat. Then we took the kids to Pirate's Cove for some mini golf, again no pictures but fun was had, we'll just have to trust me! That was Saturday and Sunday!

We're BACK!

My plan was to have some post scheduled before I left but that obviously didn't happen! We had a really fun time in Door County with my dad and step-mom. The vacation post might be done in two or more parts! We left our house Thursday night and headed to my dad's for dinner and then to sleep. We got going pretty early Friday morning to leave and didn't want to add an extra 30 minutes to our drive from our house. Our first stop was The Farm, a petting zoo.

Family Picture!

GG feeding the goat that attacked her bottle :)

Her holding a baby chick.

Monkey on Grandpa's shoulders while Grandma feeds the cow. Look at the excitement on that face of his!

Red and GG feeding the piglets, they were so cute.

Brave Monkey feeding the goats out of his hand.

The kids in the bottom of the well.

Peanut feeding the goat. I don't know if she liked it?!

Red feeding the goat a bottle. Look at that expression. Priceless!

Another family picture on the tractor.

After we left The Farm we went to the townhouse we were staying in, got a bite to eat and went swimming. That concludes the first day of our vacation!

We got back last night really late so today will be putting the house back in order and we have a dentist appointment. It is Red's first dentist visit! I hope there are no cavities. Also wanted to mention that Peanut gives kisses. I can't remember if I have posted that yet but about a month ago she started giving J and I kisses very randomly. But now if you say, "Can I have a kiss." She gives you one. Of course, she still stinks her tongue out and plants it right on your mouth but I know those baby kisses won't last and so I am LOVING them, wetness and all! Oh yeah she gives hugs too. I love those chubby little arms wrapped around my neck. So sweet!

One last thing. I got an award. I will have to post about it after I get all the vacation stuff done but Thank You Fuschia!

I'm Back!

I have been flying under the radar for the last few days. I was just sitting here thinking how nice it is for my dad and step mom to be able to take a 2 week trip to Costa Rica. Now don't forget that they just took us to Disney world in November and paid for all 13 of our family members to go for my dad's 50th birthday. Well it is Roberta's turn because she has her birthday this month.

I'm a little bummed/stressed about this weekend. Friday my small group is getting together at our friends house and I can't find a sitter. I really want to go and she really wants everyone to be there it actually got changed from Saturday to Friday because one of the girls couldn't go. But Friday is even worse for me, now that I am trying to find a babysitter. I don't want to be stressed about it because I want to go there and have a relaxing time.

Finally Pictures!

Hopefully this worked because it took me over an hour! I didn't even put all the pictures we took, I left out the individual ones each kid got with the characters. I hope you enjoy the pictures because we had a wonderful time while taking them :)

Thank Heaven Its Friday!

We have dubbed Fridays MOVIE day. When Daddy goes to work the kids get to watch one movie. It is nice for me and them to be able to unwind after the week. They both got their homework done so we don't have to worry about that come Sunday night. Since they are watching the movie I thought I would get on here and post some pictures of our trip about 2 weeks ago. Better late then never, right?


My Babies!

Lovin' the slide

I see you!

This ROCKS!

Monkeying Around :)

Does this thing still work?

We don't want to pose, again!

GG took this of me and Amy

Fishin' with friends

Long lost friends

Still amazed we got this picture taken with 6 kids 5 years and under!

The Balloons are fillin' up

WOW, so cool!

SMILES

The coolest picture I got of the balloons

Now don't forget these are just some of my favorites! I took lots of pictures on our trip and kept 90 of them because I really liked them, the beauty of a digital camera. I tried something new when posting so I hope this turned out ok. I guess we'll see once I publish it!!!!