Day 2 Animal Kingdom

Despite the disappointment of knowing we were going to Animal Kingdom instead of hanging out at the resort pools, we ended up having a good day. Amy and I made the mistake of making the plan after about 36 hours on one hour of sleep so we misread the closing time. We were planning on 8 so we didn't rush out in the morning and were bummed when we saw everyone heading for the gates at 5.

As you can see from the squinters, we needed to find sunglasses on this trip or else the pictures were all going to be like this.

The Tree of Life is just an awesome wonder. Tons of animals carved into it all around the trunk.

 The whole gang, they really did get along pretty darn well. The only tough times were between the 2 eight year olds in the van vying for placement rights.

 I just love experiencing things by watching my kids. The amazement and wonder on Jacob's face especially always makes my heart grow two sizes.

This one I admired from the bottom. Well, someone had to sit with Brady. :)

Follow the arrow to see our crew. I had to take a few trial pictures because I had no idea which cart they'd be on.

 And aren't we a cute couple? That's not a rhetorical question so feel free to say "Yes".

 On the safari with his new 'friend' he won at a basketball game.

 A sampling of the animals. It was actually a bit hard to get good pix because as you know they are on a schedule and have to keeps those rides moving. I would have loved to go on the safari again but we had to leave sooner than anticipated.

 I'm so bummed that this picture really does no justice to just how drenched we got on this ride. Amy and I were the lucky recipients of a thousand gallons of water over our backs while the kids remained practically dry. So not fair!

 That is why of course they wanted to go on it again...we were all set with that and sent them on their way.

 We were so lucky with nice weather that it was a treat to enjoy the first ice cream of the season. Jacob had been waiting for his Mickey ice cream since I used it in the clues.

 And just to prove we were there, and still have it going on....!!!!

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

Hitting the Road

This trip really wouldn't have been possible without Betty offering it, Auntie thinking of me when it came up, my hubby for being willing to work so we could play, Amy's husband Chris for giving up homecooked meals for the week while Amy came with me and Amy for her willingness to drive with me and 4 boys for 24ish hours. So to all of them I say, "Thank you!".

In my opinion it was pretty smooth sailing. We did not get lost once, no one got car sick, no flat tires and we barely heard, "Are we there yet?" or "I have to go to the bathroom". Before we left we found one of our video players had a ruined screen and that Amy only had one. Since we were really counting on them for entertainment Jim took a quick ride to Target...problem solved.

We did drive straight through. The boys looked like angels when they were sleeping. We almost hated to stop for gas in fear of them waking.

We stopped for a dinner/movement break and saw a whole bunch of these guys. Unfortunately because it was dusk neither of our cameras could get a good shot.

And by the end of the 24 hours the van looked like we found a tornado, barely any room for people.

Another quick stop for one of our gormet planned meals....

and movement break.

The boys were so excited when we finally arrived. We actually got in early before the last people had even checked out so we spent the day poolside while the room was cleaned. We finally got our call and rushed to the room. "I hear someond in there mom", "No, no one is in there, they are all done", "Oh, hello cleaning lady". We weren't leaving though! "It looks great", we said. (Remember our traveling digs, anything looks clean compared to that)

The boys and I shared this room. I actually felt loved when they were disappointed when it wasn't my night to sleep with them.

Our dining room table we officially used 2 or three times despite our commitment to doing this vacation 'cheap' and using the kitchen :)

And what a nice kitchen it was. Stove, fridge, microwave, dishwasher.



Right out the back was a golf course and these friendly little buggers.

They were interested in our little buggers.

The boys look forward to finding these guys when we come to Florida. The challenge is to catch them without them losing their tail.

We were fortunate to have cool pools right at the resort. When asked for their highs and lows of the trip, more than one of them responded that their high was swimming in the pool.

Now that Joshua has glasses the he can see good with he realizes just how much of the world he doesn't see without them. It is hard to find him without them now.

Another highlight was the basketball hoop right over the pool. We need to get one of these around here.

The had two of these kind by the other pool. We really needed a few more days to be able to really use the resort.

I guess Amy didn't have her camera ready when I went down the slide, sorry folks.

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

Surprise!!!

A vacation just fell in our laps. A friend of a friend is unable to use her timeshare and didn't want it to go to waste. And just my luck, my name came to mind when Auntie Chris heard about it. I was so excited I tried to figure out how I could make it work. Only two weeks notice is a little tough to come up with vacation funds. The only way I could make it happen was to drive...and I needed a driving partner.

Daddy has to work and Auntie Chris can't get out of work. My childhood friend Amy works from home so I was hoping in the very least she could work on location :)

I hadn't told the boys until tonight. I wanted to wait even longer, partly because it can be hard to wait and partly because I half expected the reaction I got :( "I don't want to drive", "I'm not going!" Ugghh...these kids can make it hard do nice things for sometimes!

I tried to tell them in a fun way..again..."I don't like to pop balloons". I give up.

Well I am super excited and so are Amy and the boys...so there Joshua and Jacob!! Take that!!!

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

Mom, Someone moved my De-Rocker

Yes, there is some new lingo in our house lately. Words like shocks, suspension and trailers have been replaced by de-rocker, sleuce boxes and Parker Schnarbel. Friday nights in our house are reserved for the show Gold Rush on Discovery after we settle in from basketball practices. It is a show that follows three groups of men  in their quest for gold in Alaska.

One day I was cleaning up all the toys all over the livingroom, moving what appeared to be a matchbox car plastic case with a few small lego bits in it. Later Jacob came up to me. "Mom, someone moved my de-rocker and I can't find my gold!"

And today I sent Joshua out with a grease drippings catch plate because he needed something to pan gold with for the stream in the woods.

Even Jim has already looked up rivers to pan for gold in NH.

So next Friday is the season finale. Joshua said, "Mom, what is Friday night going to be like without anymore Gold Rush?"

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

Always an AllStar in my Book

For his second year of playing basketball Joshua was chosen for the Merrimack Rec AllStar team. Unfortunately the Rec puts on a tournament but invites travel teams which are competitive and established so we never win a game. It is still exciting to watch because these kids all play their heart outs each and every game. And this year Joshua got his annual stomach flu out of the way before the tournament.

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

Another Jeanne Knock off

I cook, Jeanne bakes. So when she makes cream filled cupcakes it's pure talent. When I decide to make them it's only because I found this...

Come on, how cool are these? Fill the bottom slightly, squeeze in the white cream (which must be some type of freak of nature as it doesn't melt into the cupcake as it bakes),

 cover them slightly with remaining batter and bake.

 Let cool slightly and dig in!!! Yum-O. Let's just say there is a box of yellow cupcakes and white cream in my cupboard for the next time. And speaking of next time...next time my sister comes I'm going to make her make me some real chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter cream. Let me rephrase that, I'll beg her to make me some.

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

Passing on the 'jeans'

Did you know that my picture is in the Webster's dictionary? It is, right next to the word procrastinator. It started in junior high as far as I can remember, continued right into high school and college and plagues me in my work and home life. Not only do I procrastinate, I do other needless things in their place to further avoid what needs to be done.

There are many stories that are shared about me running down to the basement to rifle through the Christmas decoration boxes at 6:30 am to gather materials for a public speaking presentation in high school or calling down the street to family friends before we had a computer to work on a paper due the next day only to lose it in the computer somewhere and have to start again.

So fast forward to the point of this post...Jacob had his first real grade school project. One that was curriculum based and went beyond a collage of what he was grateful for. A month ago he came home with the description of choices and picked the poster. Easy enough. Oh, small detail...and a model of the housing of his assigned tribe. Project due date...Jan 31.

Fast forward a little more to Jan 28, the day we started his poster.

And to Jan 30, the day and started and completed his 'longhouse'.

 So to Joshua I passed on the height gene, and to Jacob I am regrettably passing on the procrastination gene.

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle