Six Years & Counting...

After 6 years of marriage:

we have 5 smiling faces in our family,

we have had 4 different jobs,

we have moved 3 times,

we have 2 houses,

we have 1 eternal family,

and 0 partridges in a pear tree.

The Magic Kingdom

Rick had meetings in Orlando, so we decided to all go & make a family vacation out of it. They say that Disney World is the happiest place on earth. We would say that is only true if you derive happiness from large crowds, long lines, hot days, and blistered feet. We don't particularly enjoy those things, especially when combined with 3 kids under the age of 5.

Despite all that, we did have an enjoyable experience and the kids were absolute troopers through it all. It was lots of fun to hear the kids laugh through so many rides. They were a little scared on some of the rides, but even that was fun for them. After screaming "so terrible" (Lexie's words) through the Thunder Mountain rollercoaster, she still said, "Maybe I could do it one more time." That changed to, "I want to go on the big one again with daddy!" So she did, along with Splash Mountain (she and dad got soaked!) and several times on the smaller rollercoaster. Cheryl even went on her first rollercoaster ride ever - and she didn't even get scared.

Our favorite rides/experiences were:
Dad: Splash Mountain & Thunder Mountain with Lexie (he was just happy to have someone go with him on the big rides)
Mom: Just seeing how excited the kids got on the different rides
Lexie: Thunder Mountain "because of the colorful bats" & Mickey's PhilharMagic (she laughed so hard all through this 3-D movie, even standing up and trying to grab things as they appeared to float out in front of us)
Joseph: It's a Small World & the Goofy Rollercoaster ("but I'm ready to get off when it's done")
Andrew: It's a Small World (This was a great ride to nurse him on - he will probably think it is time to eat every time he hears that song now.)

We packed a lot in during our two days at Disney, but we learned a few important lessons, too.
- The day after Memorial Day is not the best time to go (Wednesday was much less crowded).
- FastPass tickets are better than gold (especially when you win the Dream FastPass like we did, it let us go to the front of the line on each of the rides that offer FastPass).
- We are not going back until the kids are too big to say "Carry me!"
- The Florida heat and humidity should not be underestimated, even in May.
-If you take a video camera it's better to use it in the park than to leave it in your hotel room like we did.
- Going first thing in the morning, returning to the hotel for a mid-day nap, and then going back to the park for the evening is a great way to avoid the most intense heat, lines, and crowds.
- Three small children are too many to fly with only one adult (it's hard enough to take one kid into an airplane restroom).
- You can't miss the fireworks, especially if you have a Tinkerbell fan in your party.
- A family season pass to our local Six Flags costs less than a fourth of what we paid to go to Disney World for 2 days (not really a lesson learned, but something to consider the next time we think about a vacation).

Overall, good times were had by all.

A Blast from the Past

Sunday some of my friends (Nora & Lori) from my younger years came over for dinner & to play. It was great fun to catch up & see what great parents they are. Their kids are adorable & my kiddos loved playing with them. My kids woke up the next day asking if they could all come play again & we're sad when we told them not today.

I'm grateful for good friends. Thanks for coming-we're glad you could & we're excited for the next visit!

Me & Nora in 1984

Me & Lori in 1993

All Tuckered Out

I guess 3 days of no naps finally caught up with him.

We're So Old School!

On Tuesday evening we went to a Parent's Meeting for incoming Kindergartners. We can't believe we're old enough to have a kid starting school! Rick thought it was fun experiencing the nostalgia of being in an Elementary School gymnasium. One thing we thought was kind of funny was when the teachers explained how excited they were about getting iPods. The kids will take turns bringing the iPods home to practice assignments along with the teacher's voice.
Great-guess that means we'll be learning how to use an iPod from a five year old! (Can't they do it on a cassette tape?)

Since Our Fathers & Sons Campout Was Cancelled...

Due to the snow & cold in the mountains, the Fathers & Sons campout was cancelled, so we decided to put the tent up in the backyard & let the kids pretend they were camping. We were surprised at how much fun 5 people could have all crammed into a 7'x7' area...

We played some Duck, Duck, Goose...

Hide & Seek...

& Dress Up.

Then the Tickle Monster came...

And every campout needs a scary story...

(It was about a boy & girl who dreamt they ate giant marshmallows & when they woke up their pillows were gone-AAHHH!)

All the excitement wore us out...it's time to go inside to bed.

We're ready for next year!

Work & Rick's Epiphany

Rick took Friday off to help me finish cleaning & organizing the basement. Yea! It's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't have to go to work. Today we finished off a few more things in the basement & headed outside to plant our garden.

This year we planted lettuce, spinach, broccoli, peas, watermelon, peppers, tomatoes, sunflowers, butternut squash, yellow squash, zucchini, & cucumbers. Here's hoping they grow...

After being so busy yesterday & today, we enjoyed a little break after getting the kids down. While relaxing in the cool evening breeze, Rick mentioned how nice it would be to sit back like this & not think about all the things that needed to be done. In that moment of clarity, he suddenly realized that he still has to work as many years as he's been alive before he can retire. What do you do when you're mentally ready to retire, but financially you're not quite there yet?

Merry Mother's Day!

Here's a surprise secret Mother's Day message for you, Cheryl. See if you can decode it...

What's going on in that baby's bean?

A few weeks ago Rick took Andrew with him to drop off some banana bread at the neighbor's house. The lady saw Andrew and said, "No wonder your mommy doesn't bring you over here. You are so cute I would keep you!" No sooner had the words left her mouth, when Andrew suddenly lost his happy countenance, got a really pouty face, and then started to cry. "She's only kidding," Rick quickly explained to him. That was enough to stop the crying and have his smile return. It might have just been a coincidence, but it really seemed like he understood what was said.

What ever you do...

There's No smiling allowed!

And no having fun!

A Major Breakthrough...Literally!

Andrew had his first 2 teeth break through his gums today!

(That explains why he's been so crusty!)

Choo! Choo!

The Colorado Railroad Museum had free admission today, so we decided to take the family out to Golden for the experience. The kids had a blast running around & climbing on everything. Their favorite part was watching the big model trains running. Joseph raced them all around the track. It was a beautiful day & it was great to get outside to enjoy it.