My Life as a Zookeeper

Day 4 & 5

2011-12-27T17:00:00.001-05:00

Day 4: Today the kids got to pick where to eat for lunch and they picked Monterrey’s. We had a very busy day at church and we didn’t even take pictures!!

Day 5: Family Game Night Tonight the kids got to pick the games we played for our family game night. They choose Pay Day and Skip Boo. Zac had a bad day at school so he missed the first game because he had to write 25x’s I will be listen and follow directions at school!!

Day 2 & Day 3

2011-12-27T16:30:00.001-05:00

Day 2: The kids got new PJ’s and we watched The Polar Express and drank hot coca.

Day 3: We all got up at 5:30 on a Saturday morning to go and serve breakfast at Miracle Hill. The kids loved helping to cook the breakfast and getting to serve. We had a huge group from our Sunday School class and it was a blast.

25 Days of Christmas

2011-12-27T16:22:00.001-05:00

This year we decided to start an Advent Calendar. I thought it would help us to intentionally do more as a family. The kids loved it and we will be doing it again next year for sure! Each day they opened and envelope that told what we were doing for that day. Some days it was us doing something fun and other days it was us doing for others.

Day1: The first day we went to look at Christmas lights and finished with ice cream from Tutti Frutti. Stacy had told us about a cool house on Lake Bowen that you drive the yard at and that’s were we went. It was really cool and the kids loved it.

I’m Back!! I have decided to try blogging again.

2011-12-27T12:01:00.001-05:00

Pumpkin Carving and Trunk or Treat

2010-02-27T07:41:00.000-05:00

Here are the kids pumpkin creations this year.
Andrew with his scary pumpkin:

Karson with the Trick or Treat pumpkin:

Every Halloween our church host a trunk or treat event where you fill your car trunk with candy and kids come thru the line to trick or treat. Every year we have about 1500 kids come thru so we have to have lots and I mean lots of candy! Our Sunday School class helps with the candy and we are always able to give several pieces to each child. It was raining this year so the church decided to hold the event in our gym. It was much better because you could actually see the kids costumes. This year the Cotheran's met up with us and they helped give out candy too. The Laney's and Nana and Aunt G also had their own tables on either side of us this year so we had a long line of kids giving out candy.

Riverbanks Zoo

2010-02-26T16:29:00.000-05:00

Before Halloween we went to Riverbank Zoo with the Cotheran's and the Laney's. We spent the day looking at all the different animals at the zoo and of course we posed for plenty of photographs along the way.

The whole crew:

Zac and the ladies:

Zac riding an elephant:

My kids with the tiger:

After spending the day looking at the animals we left and got some dinner where we met up with the Waddell's and headed back to the zoo for Boo at the Zoo. The kids get to dress up in their costumes and trick or treat at the zoo. Karson was a diva (of course) and both the boys were something from GI Joe.

All the girls

Karson's 10th Birthday

2010-02-26T14:33:00.000-05:00

I know I'm way behind and haven't posted in awhile so I am going to try and catch up. So get ready for blog overload as I try to update from June 09 to February 10.

On October 19th Karson turned 10 years old. I can't believe that my baby is actually double digits. This was a huge birthday year for her and so we decided to take the whole family to Great Wolfe Lodge in Charlotte to celebrate. Jamie was going to a Metallica concert on Sunday night so it worked out perfectly. We arrived to the hotel on Sunday afternoon around 2 and to our surprise our room was ready. So we took our stuff in and immediately changed into our swimsuits and headed to the water park. The kids had so much fun exploring the indoor water park and going down all the water slides.
Luckily Zac was tall enough to go down all but one of them. We then had pizza and headed back to our room to change into our pj's and to let daddy change and head to his concert. At 7pm the hotel has a story time in the lobby and you are encouraged to wear your pj's. The story is told in front of this huge tree and it moves and it's really cool. Afterwards the mascot Willey came out and took pictures with all the kids. On Monday morning the kids were awake bright and early and ready to go back to the water park. We spent most of the morning again going down the slides and playing in the wave pool. The hotel was empty this weekend so we were able to just walk up the massive amounts of stairs and climb right on the slides. The positive was that we were able to get right on the negative was that we were exhausted because we never got to rest waiting in line. Someone should really invent an escalator for the water parks. Anyway after lunch in our room we went and played Magic Quest. This is a fun game located all over the hotel where kids get to look for clues and perform magic with their wands. They played for about 2 hours and again it was more climbing stairs as it is located all over the hotels 3 floors in the lobby. For dinner we took Karson to the restaurant in the hotel for her birthday. For her cake we ordered the campfire desert and they sang happy birthday to her. We all shared this huge desert which was ice cream, waffle cone logs, and cotton candy for the fire. That night they had a trick or treat thing set up in the lobby to give the kids candy before story time. After story time tonight we fell fast asleep. On Tuesday morning we went to make paper mache wolves in the lobby. The kids really enjoyed learning how to make paper mache and decorating them.

Afterwards Jamie and the kids enjoyed another hour in the water park before we headed home.
The one thing I learned is when they say on TV that they keep the water park at 85 degrees year round that it doesn't feel that warm.It was actually quite cold inside after you were wet. There was no sun to warm you up!!

Niven's Apple Farm

2010-02-25T23:00:00.000-05:00

In October we went to Niven's Apple Farm with the Cotheran's. When we first got there we went in the corn maze.

The kids lead the way and it was pretty easy. Afterwards we went into the pumpkin patch to cut our own pumpkins. We have never done this before and it was so fun.

The kids each picked a pumpkin and then we cut it off the vine and put it into the wheel barrow. We spent a little while looking at the animals, tasting apple cider, and playing on the playground before we left.

Zac's First Day of Kindergarten

2010-02-25T16:21:00.002-05:00

This past summer Jamie and I made a difficult decision to remove our children from Fairforest Elementary school and place them in Spartanburg Charter School. This is a public school which involves parents and community. They have a unique learning style similar to the Montessori. They also require the children to wear uniforms. Another difference is they have gender specific classrooms. They all seem to be doing very well there. This was also Zac's first year of big boy school. Since he attended preschool at the same place I work he has never been away from me. The first day he was very nervous but he loves school now!

On the way to school:

Mom's really leaving me here!

Aren't they too cute in their uniforms!

Andrew & Noah

Blue Bell Camp

2010-02-25T16:13:00.003-05:00

Every summer since Karson was 5 she has gone to Blue Bell Camp. Blue Bell's are dancers at Dorman High School. She always has a great time and learns a cute routine.
Warm Up:

Getting ready:

Kick Line:

Finale:

Aunt Ginger & Uncle Sam's Wedding

2009-07-20T16:46:00.010-04:00

On Friday we left for Myrlte Beach again. This time we were going because Jamie's sister was getting married to Sam on Monday. We decided to leave early and spend a little time with the kids alone. We hardly ever go on vacation alone with the kids so it was so nice to just be with them.

On Monday morning we went over to the house Sam's parents were renting in Surfside and headed out to the beach for the wedding at 9am. We thought it might rain but it held out. It was a beautiful wedding and the pictures turned out great. As soon as they cut the cake we drove back to Spartanburg because Jamie had to be at work at 4:30. Congratulations G & Sam!!

A few family beach pictures!! I have never taken pictures of us on the beach before with us not in our bathing suits. They turned out great and one of them may become our Christmas card this year!!

Myrtle Beach 2009

2009-07-07T21:16:00.011-04:00

Every year we go to Myrtle Beach the week of July 4th with my dad and step mom. They have a camper and we all stay there and spend the week relaxing. My kids absolutely love the beach. They would spend hours playing in the waves. This year Nana bought them all a boogie board to take with them and they loved it. They spent numerous hours boogie boarding in huge waves.

Jamie also enjoyed playing with them. Me I don't really care for the ocean. I am scared of ocean animals (jellyfish) and don't like the feel of sand all over me. I spent the week laying out in the sun reading. I read 2 books while we were gone. I don't know why but it never seems to be super hot while you are laying out at the beach. The wind off of the ocean is great.

On Sunday we met Jamie's dad and his wife Dianne at Margarataville to celebrate his 60th birthday. We shopped for a litte while at Broadway at the beach and took a few pictures.

The campground we stayed at had a huge water slide that the kids and Jamie went down a few times and they also had a game called Water Wars where you got to shoot water balloons at each other.

On Thursday the campground had a Ice Cream Eating contest and an Oreo Stacking Contest. We decided to enter because what is better than free ice cream and oreos. It was so much fun. Karson came really close to winning her age group she even was eating it with her hands. Jamie won the adult age group. He ate his whole bowl in 2 bites. It was amazing! Next up was oreo stacking. I think I found a new hidden talent. We played this contest in rounds and I kept winning to advance to the next round. In the final round I came in 2nd place with 10 oreos in 5 seconds. The winner had 11. In the first few rounds we had 10 seconds and the most I had were 18. It was so fun!!

Jamie had talked all week about buying a big shovel so he could dig a hole on the beach. So we went to Wings and bought him one and on the last day we were at the beach he dug a huge hole. The tide was really high so it kept trying to come up and fill up his hole with water. He got it so deep that the kids could stand in it and you could barely see their heads. I convinced the boys to let us bury them and it was so cute. They started to panic a little when it was time to get them out because we had to dig them out. People around were looking at us like we were evil parents or something!!

The morning of July 4th my dad found a flyer at the campground that said Freestyle Music Park was having a special that for $17.76/ 4 people could go to the park. This is an awesome deal because it normally cost $35 a person and we all went and parked for $25. The kids had fun riding a few rides.

At 6pm on July 4th the campground had a huge block party out on the beach with singing, watermelon, and fireworks. The kids played in the sand the whole time and they were DIRTY!!! We had so much fun camping with my Dad and hopefully next year we will have our own camper to go in.

Zachary's 5th Birthday

2009-06-26T21:23:00.007-04:00

Okay I am officially a procrastinator. My poor 3rd child Zachary turned 5 years old way back on March 8th. On his actual birthday we did go out to eat at Mellow Mushroom with some friends and had a cookie cake but we didn't do presents.

The Birthday Boy and Brynn

We were very busy having our consignment sale and going to Disney around his actual birthday so I didn't plan a party and said I would do it when we got back from Disney but life happened and I didn't get it done. In May when the girls and I went to the Women Of Joy Conference we decided that I should give him a pool party at Tracy's and we even set a date for a Saturday in June. All the kids were so confused about why Zachary was having another birthday already. He himself was confused and thought we were just having a swim party at Ms.Tracy's not a birthday party. I did not get around to inviting anyone from his class but we still had 13 kids and it was so fun. The kids and adults played in the pool all afternoon and Brad even grilled us some fantastic chicken wings for dinner!! Next year I promise to do better:)

Baby Addie loves the pool!!

Zoe doing a flip off the diving board.

Andrew doing a flip!

Brynn splashing

Jake shooting someone with the water gun

Braeden trying to squirt Brynn with water

Zachary playing with the float

Cheetos!!

The girls eating
Andrew and Noah
Yummy cupcakes

Jake eating cheetos

Braeden and Zoe

Getting ready for the candles

His favortie present a Wolverine Costume!!! He put it on as soon as we got home that night, in fact he kept asking when we were going to leave Ms. Tracy's so we could go home and put it on! The boy loves his costumes. Thanks You Brynn:)

Thank You Ms. Tracy and Mr. Brad for letting us use your pool for our late birthday party!! You are the best!!!

Awards Day

2009-06-03T07:48:00.000-04:00

On Monday Andrew's class had an Awards Day Presentation in their classroom. Jamie and I were both able to go. He is always so excited to have us come to his school. He recieved an award for having All A's & B's all year long. He also recieved an award for having Perfect Attendance this school year. I can't believe we didn't miss a day of school all year long. There were many days that he said that he didn't feel well but I sent him to school and he was always fine as soon as school was over. His teacher this year was so nice and had some great things to say about him. She said that he was a great reader and worked hard when giving a task to keep him busy. He has came along way this year with his reading and we are so proud of him. Keep up the good work!!

Andrew's Tooth

2009-06-02T23:59:00.000-04:00

Last week Andrew came home from school and said that his top tooth had been hurting and bleeding all day at school. When I looked at it I could tell that one side of it was just hanging and the other side was attached still. I wiggled and he screamed for about 20 minutes and it wouldn't budge. It was still just hanging there. I called the dentist and they said that they could see me the next day at noon. When we got there they ended up pulling both of his top front teeth. It was a major ordeal but I am glad I didn't have to do it. He is my first child to have both of his front teeth missing at the same time and I love it. It is just so cute!!
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Dance Recital

2009-06-02T19:34:00.000-04:00

The last Saturday of soccer Karson had to miss her game because it was the day of her dance recital. She has been taking dance from Teele's this year and she loved it. She took a Jazz and Pom Pom class. They learned two dances to preform on the night of her recital. We were only allowed to take pictures during the dress rehearsal the night before but that was okay. At least I got some pictures. Brynn was dancing also so we got to watch her too. Ms. Rhonda and Ella Kate also came to watch her dance along with Nana. She did a great job!! I think this style of dance is for her. She loves to shake her hips!!! After the recital was over we gave her some flowers and took her out to eat at Olive Garden.

K4 Graduation

2009-06-02T07:10:00.000-04:00

My baby graduated from K4 this year. I am so sad!! I can't believe that I no longer have a preschooler. I didn't get as emotional during the graduation ceremony as I thought I would but it was sad never the less. I think in August when he starts kindergarten is when it will finally sink in that he is no longer going to school with me everyday.

The night of his program he was so excited because everyone was coming to watch him. He was especially excited because Brynn was coming.

He said that he had to sing very good for her. He sang every song and smiled from ear to ear. My favorite song they sang was I wish I had a little red box to put my mommy in, I'd take her out and KISS KISS KISS and put her back again. That little song just makes me smile everytime I hear it. Ms. Laura does such a great job teaching the kids music that they like!!

Singing the bumblee bee song

Saying the Lord's Prayer

After they sang some songs they played a slide show of memories of the year while the kids changed into their gowns.

Zachary & Clay

They then came back on the stage and received their diplomas.

Anderson Mill Rd Early Learning Center K4 and K5 graduation

Afterwards we went back to their classrooms and took a few pictures in the cap and gown.

Zachary and Ms. Sophie

Zachary & Daddy

Zachary & Mommy

Braeden, Brycen, Zachary, and Jake

Mother's Day

2009-06-01T23:59:00.000-04:00

For Mother's Day I woke up to the smell of something good cooking and my husband not in bed with me. This is so amazing because never once in our marrigae has he gotten up without me getting him up!! The kids had woken him up and they cooked breakfast for me. I got to get up and take my shower and get ready without any interuptions. He took care of everything. I did have to fix Karson's hair because it was a church day. After church Nana, G, Sam, and Ryan all came over for lunch. Jamie had fixed a pot roast the night before and Nana brought macaroni and cheese and Ginger and Sam fixed broccoli and cauliflower. We had a great time together. After lunch the kids gave me a card from them and a new planner. My old one ends in June so I had mentioned that I needed a new one just in conversation and my husband remembered and that is what he got me!! Karson also made me a card at school, Andrew made me a flower pot and Zachary drew a picture of me. I have been blessed with three of the best kids and the most amazing husband in the whole world!!! Karson, Andrew, Zachary, and Jamie I love you and thank you for a wonderful Mother's Day!!!!

Upward Soccer

2009-05-27T07:04:00.005-04:00

We have spent the last 7 Saturday mornings playing Upward Soccer. I coached Zachary's team of 3 and 4 year olds and Andrew and Karson played also. This meant that every Saturday we were at the soccer fields for 3 hours. Most of the time it was so hot but it was so much fun!! I loved coaching my team and teaching them a little about soccer and a lot about God's love for them. Karson and Andrew both loved playing and Karson has decided that maybe she would like to play "real" soccer next year as she called it. I am so glad that it is over and we can start enjoying SUMMER!!!

After our season is over our church hosted an Awards Night for the kids. They all got a trophy and an Upward bag. They were all so proud of their trophies.

Easter Activites

2009-05-22T16:49:00.008-04:00

Okay since Easter has long since been over and I am just now getting around to posting about it I thought I would just put it all together in one post. We started the festivites by dying our Easter Eggs early this year since we always forget them until the last minute and we are rushed. This kids had a great time. We went to an Easter Egg Hunt at church put together by none other than my good friend Tracy Harrison. First Kim told the Easter Story to the kids and we had a puppet show and then we went to look for eggs on the field. There were tons of eggs and the kids had a great time.

On Saturday night we made Easter Cookies. These cookies are so cool because they tell the true Easter Story.
First you pound the nuts just like Jesus was beaten. Then you smell vinegar to symbolize what Jesus was offered to drink while he hung on the cross. Then you add eggs because they smybolize life. Jesus gave His life to give us life. Next you taste salt to represent the tears of Jesus' followers. Next you add sugar because the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. Beat with a mixer to form white peaks and white represents the purity of God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleared by Jesus. Drop on cookie sheet and each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Put in oven and seal door with tape. On Easter morning wake up and remove tape from oven. After you bite the cookies you realize the are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty!! After we were dressed we gave the kids their Easter baskets and took a few family photos.

After church we went to Aunt G's house for lunch with Nana and the kids had fun looking for Eggs at her house and then they loved hitting the real eggs with a baseball bat. For dinner we all went to my grandparents house. This is the first family event on my side where both of brothers have children of their own.

Where Have I Been?

2009-05-15T07:06:00.002-04:00

Ok so I know you are dying to know why I haven't posted anything in almost a month. Well, it is then end of school for me and it has been very busy. I had scrapbooks to make for 17 children and I made them cute pillowcases with a poem about school and all of the kids in our class hand prints. I also made each child a DVD with all the pictures that I had made this year and a CD with all of our favorite songs of the year. WOW!! That was a lot of stuff and every year I tell myself I will not procrastinate and I will start early and just keep it up all year long, but I never do and I always spend every day for two weeks getting everything done. Oh well I love it!! Then in the middle of doing all of this Summer Laney brought me the first Twilight book and I told myself that I would not start it until I finished all my school stuff, but I couldn't resist. I started reading the first book last Wednesday night and I finished the third book on this Wednesday night. That is a lot of reading in a week and I still finished everything else too. And the best part is today at 2pm I will be leaving my children and husband at home to go to a Women Of Joy conference in Charleston with four of the best friends a girl could ask for. I can't wait to spend time with the girls and get closer to HIM at the same time. I promise to update everything else we have done for the last month when I get home. Next week I have no school, but my older kids still do so I should be able to get a lot done!!!

Tag!! You're It.

2009-04-20T18:33:00.002-04:00

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Summer Vacation
2. The Beach
3. Mondays at the Pool
4. Kids going to summer camp
5. Getting much needed work done around the house
6. Finishing all my end of the year stuff for my class
7. Cookouts with Nana and G
8. Opening my windows

8 things I did yesterday:

1. Threw Up for 12 hours
2. Slept
3. Watched movies in bed
4. Slept some more
5. Drank Gatorade
6. Ate noodle soup my husband brought me
7. Slept some more
8. Finally got up around 5:45 this morning and felt better

8 things I wish I could do:

1. Cook Well
2. Keep a plant alive
3. Like cleaning my house
4. Travel more
5. Spend the summer at the beach
6. Make enough money to let Jamie take awhile off and go back to school
7. Eat Healthier and exercise
8. Have more date nights with my husband

8 Things that I watch:

1. Amazing Race
2. Survivor
3. Cops
4. Hell's Kitchen
5. Wheel of Fortune
6. Ace of Cakes
7. Football
8. Dog the Bounty Hunter

Tag You're IT!! It's harder than it looks:)

And the winner is...

2009-04-12T08:28:00.004-04:00

I know that everyone is excited to see who the winner is and the Disney giveaway goes to.... Jennifer Glover!!! Congratulations to Jennifer and thank you to everyone who left comments.I used random.org and Jennifer left the winning comment on April 8th and 9:30 am. I really enjoyed doing this trip report not only for myself but for everyone who was reading.

Disney Day 7

2009-04-10T16:12:00.008-04:00

Today is my 100th post!! It is also the last day to comment and get entered in the drawing for a cool Disney giveaway tomorrow morning.

Friday was our final day at the Disney Parks. It was a sad but fun day. We have our busiest day planned. We again awoke to rain and it drizzled all the way to the bus stop. After we arrived at the Magic Kingdom it began to pour rain. We were lucky to find a covered spot to stand in while we waited for the gates to open at 9am. After the gates opened we ran in the pouring down rain to Space Mountain. When I say pouring I mean thunder lightning and torrential downpour. Luckily we all had ponchos so only our feet and the bottoms of our pants got wet. Our strollers were soaked. Pour little Addie didn't understand keeping her raincoat on so she was drenched. Summer had to take her shorts off because there was not a dry thread on them. We did manage to ride Space Mountain, Buzz Light year, and the Tomorrow land Transit Authority. Afterwards we were so excited to be heading over to the meet the fairies in Toon Town. At 10am which is what time they opened there was already an hour wait. We decided to wait because at least it was dry, and the line would only get longer as the day went on. It was so cool to actually meet Tinkerbell.

I have never seen her before at Disney World. Next we walked over to ride the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. During the day we met Mary Poppins, Pinocchio, and Rafiki.
We ate lunch at a great Taco Place and then we just shopped for a little while waiting for our appointments at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. The girls, Karson, Zoe, and Brynn, were going here to get made into princesses. They were so excited all week for this. Once we got to the place and got their clothes changed we were called back for their makeovers. The girls got to choose what kind of hair they likes and Zoe and Brynn picked the fairy tale princess which was like a tight bun on top of your head with a crown.

Karson picked the Disney Diva which was a little older and she got pink hair. They also got their nails and makeup done. They got to keep all the nail polish and make up that they used on them.

At the end the fairy godmother who was doing their hair would sprinkle pixie dust over them while she wished all their dreams to come true.

She then spun them around so they could see their selves in the mirror. The girls were more than thrilled. Karson who I thought might have thought this was to babyish for her loved it!! We then took the girls outside and made pictures in front of the castle.
For dinner tonight we were eating at the Grand Floridian which is the nicest of Disney hotels with Cinderella, Prince Charming,
the Wicked Stepmother, and the Evil Step Sisters. My boys were so excited to meet Prince Charming. This is the only place to meet him at Disney.Brynn and Zachary dancing!!
I had to have my picture made with the Evil Step Sister since my friends all say I have the "nose". We had a great vacation with great friends. We have made such great memories together that we will never forget. The most important thing is that we all came back friends. The only major disagreements we had happened between husbands and wives, which is to be expected.

Disney Day 6

2009-04-09T18:53:00.008-04:00

On Thursday morning we got to sleep in until 8am(ha ha) because we had a breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey's at 9:40am. In Disney no buses go from hotel to hotel and our breakfast was at another hotel so you have to take a bus to Magic Kingdom and then ride the monorail to the Contemporary. Now factor in that we are a group of 14 and you know this was an accomplishment that we arrived about 15 minutes early. This is the one restaurant that we have eaten at every time we go to Disney. It is great because it is a buffet and Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy
all come by your table to take pictures. Goofy loved Andrew's hat and kept taking it away and trying to give it to other people. The boys loved it and it was a rare interaction with the characters. Normally they just take pictues and move along. After breakfast we headed over to Epcot to go around the world.On the way way we stopped to visit with Belle and walked through a butterfly exhibit. We started in Mexico where we rode a boat ride and the kids got masks to take to every country to get stamped. After Mexico we went to Norway and rode another boat ride. Next up we met Mulan in China and found out what animal all of our kids were. Andrew was a snake, Karson was a rabbit, Zachary and Brynn both were monkeys, and the funniest of all was that Addie was a pig!! In China we also found out a secret talent that Corey had been hiding. Next we were off to Germany to meet Snow White. Afterwards we were off to the romantic country of Italy.
and also the home of Lady and the Tramp Next up was Japan and then off to Morocco to meet Aladdin and Princess Jasmine. Next we went to France to meet the Beast but no Belle! Our last stop of the day was in the United Kingdom where we met Pooh and his friends. After all of our travel around the world we were exhausted so we decided to go back to the hotel and let the daddies and kiddos swim while the mom's did some laundry. For dinner we ate at our hotel food court and the kids were starving since we didn't eat lunch because of our late breakfast. We headed to bed early so that we would be rested for our final day at the parks on Friday:)

Don't forget to leave comments. Drawing to take place on Sunday morning:)

Disney Day 5

2009-04-07T20:15:00.008-04:00

On Wednesday we were geared up to have our first day at the Magic Kingdom. We arrived around 8:20 and waited on the opening show to begin. I told everyone they had to run to be the first group on Dumbo. This is my favorite park because you can get so much done especially if you do it right, but if you slow down just for a second you can be in really long and hot lines. Jamie, me and our 3 kids ran like always and we were the second group to get on Dumbo. The others didn't run quite as fast so they were a couple of groups behind us. I do not like to wait, because all I can think of is all the other lines are getting longer as I stand there, so Jamie and I went ahead and did all of Fantasy Land by ourselves, with our kiddos of course.

At 10am we headed over to ToonTown to ride the Barnstormer and tried to meet the princesses. The line was already and hour long so we skipped that for now. We then got on the train and rode over to Splash Mountain and got a fast pass for it. Afterwards we rode Pirates of the Carribean and the Magic Carpets of Aladdin before we headed to lunch at the Crystal Palace. This was a character buffet were we got to meet Pooh,
Piglet, Tigger ,
and Eeyore.These kind of restaurants are lots of fun but very stressful, because you are afraid if you get up you might miss a character and they only come around once during your meal time. We had 3 families of course and the characters do not speak so the don't understand that we are not all together and we would like seperate pictures. This was a mess and by the last day Brandon said that he was done with the characters!! After lunch we talked Corey into riding Splash Mountain. He had never rode before because he doesn't like to walk around in wet clothes and I told him we rode last year and didn't get very wet. So the boys went first and they came back soaked. Corey was very upset to say the least but to top it off the girls went next and we came back with barely a drop of water on us. Then it started to rain!! We had planned on leaving but decided since we were wet and now it was raining and eveyone else would be leaving that we would just stay. So we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Buzz Lightyear. We went back to see how long it was to meet the princesses and it was only 15 minutes so we stayed.

The fairy line was still 75 minutes which we thought was crazy until a photographer said it was so worth it because you got shrunk to the size of Tinkerbell. We all decided then that we had to find out how they did this on Friday. After dinner we went to watch the Laugh Floor and we all made it on the camera with jokes under our pictures. We were laughing so hard!! We finally decided to go and find a spot to watch Wishes the firework show where Tinkerbell flies from the castle. We found a great spot in a restaurant with seats to sit in. All the kids and adults loved the show especially Tinkerbell. We decided that on Friday no matter how long the wait was we were going to meet her!!The Castle at night!

Tinkerbell is the tiny green dot you see between the castle and the white roof. Amazingly she was a real person!!
Wow, the fireworks over the castle were beautiful!!

Disney Day 4

2009-04-07T15:29:00.004-04:00

On Tuesday morning we again got up early and today we were going to Hollywood Studios to finish what we didn't get to on Sunday. Once again we lined up and ran with the crowd to Toy Story Mania. Right when they did the count down and pulled the rope back a grown women lept over me and Zachary in the stroller. Had I not slowed down a little I would have tripped her and she would have fallen face first. It was the funniest thing I think we had ever seen. I am all about running to the rides but come on jumping over someone is a little ridiculous especially from a grown person. After we rode Toy Story we walked over and got in line to watch Playhouse Disney while Jamie and Corey went to get us a Fast pass for Rock in Roller coaster. Right when they were about to let us in Zachary decided that he had to go potty. Now this seemed to be a theme for the week. Every time he was in line with Jamie he always had to go potty right before you would get on the ride. This time Jamie was glad that it happened to me. Anyways we took of running to the potty and we made it back before they went in. The little kids loved the show and the older kids (Kain and Karson) didn't seem to thrilled!! After that we went to watch Beauty and the Beast while a few of the others went to ride Tower of Terror again.

This was the first time I got to see this show and it was great, kind of like a Broadway show. Next we took Stacy Cotheran on Rockin Roller coaster for the first time and she was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing at her. This roller coaster goes from 0-60mph in a few seconds. She decided to hold her breath and she almost passed out. The guy next to her probably thought she was crazy!! Afterwards we went to lunch at Sci Fi. This was a cool restaurant because you sit in a car and watch old black and white movies while you eat. After lunch we headed back to our hotel and let the kids swim for about an hour before it started pouring down rain and thunder and lightning. For dinner we ate at the food court at our hotel. We went to bed somewhat early tonight, because tomorrow was our first day at the Magic Kingdom!!

Disney Day 3

2009-04-06T15:39:00.006-04:00

Don't forget to leave comments!! I have a great prize to give away on Saturday!!
On Monday we were heading to Epcot. This is Zachary's favorite park because it has his favorite ride, Test Track. Every since we started planning this vacation all he has talked about is riding Test Track with Brynn. As always we got up early and were at the bus stop at 8am. We got to Epcot by 8:30 and lined up to get in. The men were going to run and get fast passes for Soarin while we waited in line to meet the characters. They met back up with us just as it was our time to go and see Mickey.

After this we headed over to ride Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush. Then the men went to get a fast pass for Test Track and we rode Figment. For lunch we ate at a Food Court type place and then we took turns riding Soarin. This is my favorite ride in all of Disney!! We were very tired and decided to go back to our rooms and rest for awhile. My kids didn't take a nap but we just layed in our beds and watched tv. Around 3pm we left and went back to Epcot. We had 4pm reservations at a Japanesse Restaurant in the very back of the park. It was a long walk but well worth it because this was my favorite meal of the whole week. We then headed all the way back up front to ride Test Track and Mission Space. Afterwards we went back to the back of the park to find a spot for Illuminations which is a firework and water show. This is my families favorite show at Disney. We watch it every year!! The only bad part is that when it is over you have to wait a long time in a long line to get on a bus back to your hotel. But we walked slow and we didn't have to wait but maybe 10 minutes for a bus.

Disney Day 2

2009-04-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

On Sunday we got up early and went to Hollywood Studios. We got there and it started raining. We were not going to let this slow us down so we put on our ponchos and off we went. We sprinted with the crowd over to Toy Story Mania. After this we got out of the rain and watched The Little Mermaid. We had planned on leaving early but decided to stay since the park was empty because of the heavy rain.
We met Lightning McQueen!!
Family Picture in front of the hat!!
Waiting to watch the Light, Motor, Action Show!
All the kids waiting to watch the Muppets 3D show.
We ate and early lunch and saw lots of indoor shows. After the rain slowed down we rode( I should say they rode, Jamie, SL, Stacy, Cory, Brandon, Kain, Brynn, and Zoe) Tower of Terror. I do not ride anything that falls. This is not for me. I think Brynn was terrified and was scared of every ride for the rest of the trip. We tried to ride Rockin Rollercoaster but the line was very long. For dinner we had Mama Melrose's, a great Italian place. We had planned on staying for Fantasmic but decided to leave and let the kids swim for awhile. The water at the pool was very cold. The kids did not seem to mind even though their lips were blue. They all really loved the water slide, even the grown ups!!

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Disney Day 1

2009-04-05T14:05:00.006-04:00

Give Away: I bought a few items to give away while I was at Disney and I will do a drawing of everyone who leaves a comment by next Saturday.

We are back!! We had a great time and we are exhausted!! Our flight last night was delayed so we didn't arrive home until after 10pm and I had to teach Sunday school this morning.

Here is the first day of our seven day trip report. Hope you enjoy, oh and don't forget to leave those comments.

Last Friday we arrived in Tampa at 12am and by the time we found a hotel room and got in bed it was 1:30 am.

We got up Saturday at 6am and showered packed our cars and headed an hour down the road to Disney. We checked in to Port Orleans Riverside and met the Cotherans at the bus stop to make our way to Animal Kingdom.

By the time we made it to the front gate it was 9:30am. This is not my way of doing Disney, but we did the best we could because we couldn't get there any earlier. Our first stop was Dino Land to ride Triceratops Spin and the Dinosaur Ride.

We all took turns riding Expedition Everest before we headed to lunch. Please click on the picture to see larger!! Summer Laney is in the pink and it is the funniest thing I have ever seen:)

After lunch we watched the Lion King and Finding Nemo.

The day was very hot and long so we left a little early and headed to the Wilderness Lodge to eat dinner at Whispering Canyons. This restaurant was so funny. When Stacy asked for more napkins and straws the waiter threw them over the wall to her, when I asked for a water I got the biggest glass you ever saw, and when Jamie asked for ketchup they brought us every bottle in the place. Later Summer Laney asked for butter for her potato and they brought her a bowl and the whole bucket of butter and they scooped it out like ice cream for her. We returned to our hotel around 10pm, unpacked and fell into bed.

Disney Here We Come!!

2009-03-27T14:14:00.002-04:00

We are packed and ready to head out. Our plane leaves GSP tonight at 10pm and arrives in Tampa at 11:30pm. We are so excited to get out of the gloomy rainy weather here and get to Florida and the sunshine and 80 degree weather. The Cotherans are already there and we are planning on meeting them tomorrow at Animal Kingdom. This is Summer Laney's first time flying so that should be fun!! I will be sure to have pictures loaded when we get back late Saturday night.

Interview with My Children

2009-03-23T19:29:00.002-04:00

Stacy Cotheran has this on her blog and I thought I would give it a try tonight!!

What does your mom always say to you?
Karson clean up your room
Andrew I Love You
Zachary I Love You

What makes your mom happy?
Karson the color yellow
Andrew by doing what you say
Zachary a hug

What makes your mom sad?
Karson when we get in trouble
Andrew when we don't do what you say
Zachary when you lose your children

What makes your mom laugh?
Karson when we act silly
Andrew telling jokes
Zachary when you hear a funny joke

What was your mom like as a child?
Karson she lived on a farm and had blonde hair
Andrew I didn't know you then
Zachary you were 4

How old is your mom?
Karson 27
Andrew 27
Zachary 22

How tall is your mom?
Karson 5 foot 2
Andrew 2 feet
Zachary 22 inches

What is your moms favorite thing to do?
Karson hang out with your friends
Andrew work
Zachary eat

What does your mom do when you are not around?
Karson go shopping
Andrew go shopping
Zachary work

If your mom became famous, what would it be for?
Karson singing
Andrew a movie star
Zachary singing

What is your mom good at?
Karson working
Andrew working
Zachary working

What is your mom not very good at?
Karson golf
Andrew playing soccer
Zachary fixing stuff

What makes your mom proud of you?
Karson when I get an A+
Andrew doing what she tells us to do
Zachary by singing a song

What does your mom do for a job?
Karson teach 2 year olds
Andrew work at a school
Zachary work at my school

What is your moms favorite food?
Karson spaghetti
Andrew pasta
Zachary green beans

What makes you proud of your mom?
Karson when dad is at work at you take care of us by yourself
Andrew that she loves me
Zachary letting us have food

If your mom were a cartoon character, what would she be?
Karson Minnie Mouse
Andrew Sponge Bob
Zachary the Muppet's

What do you and your mom do together?
Karson go shopping
Andrew play
Zachary sit and watch TV

How are you and your mom the same?
Karson we are both girls
Andrew because we have the same last name Martin
Zachary both the same size

How are you and your mom different?
Karson you have dark hair and I have blonde hair
Andrew our first name is different
Zachary you big size and I am little size

How do you know your mom loves you?
Karson Because she shows me
Andrew because she kisses me
Zachary she loves me very much

What does your mom like most about your dad?
Karson he's funny
Andrew sleeping with him
Zachary you can do stuff with him

What is your mom's favorite place to go?
Karson Olive Garden
Andrew the mall
Zachary Pizza Inn

This interview was so fun and I learned a few things about myself through my kids eyes, but the most important thing I learned was when I asked each of them what your mom is not good at they all had trouble with that. I had to skip it on all three of them and come back to it. So all the things that I think I am not good they either one don't notice or two it is not a big deal to them. The funniest things they said was that I could be famous for singing!!! I also find it funny that Karson thinks I grew up on a farm, I grew up in the country but it was definitely not a farm:)

Happy Anniversary!!

2009-03-13T00:01:00.000-04:00

Today is Jamie and I's 10th Anniversary. I can't believe it has been ten years since we got married in March 1999. For those of you who don't know I was only 17 years old and some members of my family thought we were crazy and my mom shouldn't let us get married, but I am glad to say that we have since proven them wrong and they now love Jamie. I have the best husband in the whole world and we have came a long way in 10 years. I love him more everyday!! I hope we celebrate 10 more happy years together.

Snow Much Fun!!

2009-03-02T05:00:00.000-05:00

Finally Spartanburg has got a snow that we can play in. Today after church Rhonda and I decided that all the talk about snow was just that "talk" and we were going to Gaffney to go shopping. Our husbands thought we were crazy and said that they would not come and get us if we got snowed in but that was okay with us. We had a great time and left Gaffney around 4:30pm and there was actually sleet on our car. Michael kept calling and saying it was snowing here but we didn't believe him because he is always playing jokes. We made it all the way home and the minute we got off of 26 onto hwy 29 we saw the snow. It was beautiful. Michael did have to get out and drive to my house to pick up Rhonda and by the time he got here we actually had accumulation on the ground. The kids were excited so they went out to take pictures before they left to go home before it got to bad.

After we ate dinner and saw that we had several inches of snow I decided to go ahead and let the kids go outside tonight because it maybe frozen solid in the morning. This is the best snow I can remember us having in a long time. It can actually be packed and makes good snowballs and snowmen. Jamie did not realize how hard it was and threw a snowball at Karson and hit her in the eye and now I bet she has a black eye tomorrow because it is really red. Jamie and the kids built a very nice snowman and we played outside for about an hour before we were so frozen that we had to come in. I hope it is still pretty tomorrow so we can go back outside again. Gotta love Spartanburg where you get 4-5 inches of snow in March!!

Saturday Fun!!

2009-03-01T21:49:00.004-05:00

Saturday we had a very busy but fun day planned. Jamie left on Friday night to go on a men's retreat and Stacy, Summer, and I had planned on doing something but kids were sick so we cancelled. On Saturday morning I text Stacy and we decided to meet at Chuck E Cheese for lunch while we waited on the men to be home. Well I think everyone in Spartanburg had the same idea because the place was packed. You had to wait to be seated!! The funny part is we stayed for 2 hours and had a great time chatting while the kids played. Jamie and Corey got there around 1pm and they asked us if we were "crazy". Stacy and I left at 2:30 to go to a baby shower for Natalie and the men took the kids home. After the shower we met back up with the guys for our February social for our Sunday School class at Star Lanes. We had about 50 people and it was so much fun but it took us almost 2 hours to bowl one game. After we finished bowling we went to Chick fil A. The kids were so exhausted when we got home that they crashed!!

Our Family
Jake & Rhonda
Zachary's Victory Dance
Karson is so happy to get a strike!
Kate Elizabeth & Susan in their matching shirts
All the children
Andrew waiting on his ball to hit the pins
Karson and Jenna
Andrew & Zachary

Breakfast with Daddy

2009-02-27T19:00:00.000-05:00

This morning Karson and Andrew's school had their annual breakfast with daddies. Even though Jamie did not go to bed until after 2am he still got up at 6:45am to go and have breakfast with his kiddos. He is the best and he wouldn't have missed it for anything. The kids were so excited not only to go to breakfast with dad, but just to see dad in the morning is a treat at our house!! Zachary even got the chance to go along this year since he is getting to be a "big" boy.

The Circus

2009-02-27T07:37:00.005-05:00

Okay so I am just a little behind and I am trying to catch up. A few weeks ago the circus came to town and we decided to take the kids. It was a last minute decision but I got online and found tickets on Sunday afternoon 4 rows from the front for $12. I thought this was a great deal and we couldn't resist. The kids had a blast and loved to scream Zing Zang Zoom anytime that they did magic. It was also Nana's first circus and she loved it as much as the kids did!!

Countdown

2009-02-26T07:26:00.002-05:00

The Countdown has began for our Spring Break trip to Disney World. This time we are going with some great friends, the Laneys and Cotherans. I am not making shirts this time and I have most of our stuff planned. I have a few more things to do before we leave but I am getting very excited. The next 30 days will go by very fast because we have so much to do, we are moving to our new church and having our cosignment sale before we leave.

Free Disney Tickers

Newest Addition!!

2009-02-04T14:50:00.004-05:00

Update: The baby has went back to be with his mom. She got upset with me because I would not let her come to live with me and she decided to come and get the baby. She is still going to jail, I just have to be patient and wait. Her court date is the end of April and I will be there!!

On Saturday we got an unexpected but much loved addition to our family of five. My brother and his girlfriend had a baby about 4 months ago. My brother has been in jail since she found out she was pregnant and will not get out until late May. On Friday I got a phone call asking if I could take the baby for awhile because the mother was in trouble. Of course I said yes because I would never turn away an innocent baby. So on Saturday night the grandma came to drop of this adorable 4 month old baby boy named Clayton and all of his belongings. Right now we don't know how long he is staying, but we are taking it month to month. Please be in prayer for our whole family as we adjust to having a new baby around and pray for my brother and the baby's mother that they will get their lives straight and take care of this baby the way he needs to be or make the decision to leave him with me forever.

Snow Day!!

2009-01-20T23:50:00.000-05:00

Last night before we went to bed I heard on the news that we may have snow during the night. I didn't really think it would happen because in the south we never get snow when they say we are going to. When Jamie came home around 1am he woke me up and said it was snowing. Around 3am when he went to bed he said that it had quit and that nothing had been posted about school yet. When my alarm went off at 5:45am I immediatly looked outside and I couldn't see the road in front of my house and I knew there would be no school. That's all it takes around here to shut the entire city down for a day. I turned on the tv and my prediction was correct and school was cancelled. I went back to bed and around 8am my kids come and wake me up and to say that there is no school because it has snowed outside and they want to go out! I got up and got them all dressed in their warm clothes and sent them out to play.

I stood at the door and took my pictures because it was way to cold for me!! After they came in I fixed them hot cocoa and they had warm showers. We did not go anywhere today!! We stayed inside and enjoyed our snow day!! If I had not gone to Gatlinburg this weekend I would have been ready to pull my hair out by now because they have been out of school since Thursday at 11am!! Back to work and school tomorrow!!

Gatlinburg with friends and no KIDS!!

2009-01-20T20:29:00.005-05:00

During the summer while we were swimming at the Tracy's pool she asked Summer L, Rhonda, and I if we would like to go to Gatlinburg in January with no kids. We all thought that it was a great idea, but we were not sure if we would be able to work out babysitters. After Christmas we all got the plans in line for our sitters and we were all going!! I couldn't wait, I was counting down the days. Jamie and I have not been on a trip without children since before I had Zachary. We left as soon as everyone was dropped off on Thursday afternoon. Karson went home with a friend from school, Andrew went to Aunt G's house, and Zachary was all by himself at my mom's. Karson would be joining Aunt G later on that evening. Anyways Summer and Brandon picked us up around 2pm and we were off. I am not a big fan of riding with anyone else, because I like to be the one doing the driving but Brandon did a great job and only scared my once or twice in the mountains with snow on the ground. We arrived in Gatlinburg around 4:30pm but had to wait on Rhonda and Tracy to arrive so we went around getting ideas of stuff to do for the weekend and then we stopped at the Corningware place to get a pan for Nana, but ended up finding some good stuff for us also!! After Rhonda, Michael, Tracy, and Brad arrived we went to have dinner at an Italian place nearby. After dinner we returned to the house, put on our pj's, and the girls put a puzzle together, while the guys played wii.

We stayed up way to late talking and got up very early the next morning (except Brandon). Aren't you supposed to sleep in when you go on vacation with no kids? Around Lunchtime on Friday we left to eat lunch and go to Adventure Quest. This place was awesome with a mirror maze, blacklight golf, and a lasor challenge.

Brandon had been talking all day about skydiving so we stopped at the indoor skydiviing place and watched but he decided that $30 was too much!! We then parked in Gatlinburg and walked around. I don't know what we were thinking because it was cold, cold, cold!! We had to go in every other store just to stay warm, and when we say a frozen fountain we decided to go eat dinner and go to the house. We had dinner at a BBQ place, and returned to the house to play Catch Pharse.
I had never played before but it was great fun!! Again we stayed up to late and got up way to early again on Saturday but Tracy made it okay by fixing us breakfast. Again we lounged around until lunch and left to go eat at Krystal's (aka the laxative burger), then we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping.
It was so much better without kids to take in and out of stores and strollers to push in between isles. After shopping we found some taffy and went to play Lasor Tag. Jamie beat all of us!! When then went to have dinner at TGIF's. It was great. We returned to our house one last time to play Phase 10!!
On Sunday morning we got up and went to the Apple Barn for breakfast and more shoppping and returned home to our children, who were very happy to see us. We had so much fun and made some great memories together. To quote Tracy "we had too much fun, too much food, too much cold, and too little sleep! Wouldn't trade it for anything!"

Happy Birthday!!

2009-01-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

I would like to wish my very good friend Rhonda a very happy birthday. Thank you so much for putting up with me and my crazy ways. I am so glad that we have become such good friends. Here's to you..

R:Rarely on time:)

H:Honest & Hardworking

O:Organizer of many events (Sunday school socials, ELC consignment sale, children's sunday school crafts, vbs preschool crafts, just to name a few)

N:Never afraid to ask, (once called Walmart to ask if we could return unsused hamburger meat!)

D:Dedicated to her kids, work, husband, and friends

A:Always wearing a smile:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Photo Tag

2009-01-13T20:26:00.004-05:00

Okay so I thought I would get in on the photo tagging. Anyone can do it!

Here are the rules:

1. Go to your 4th picture folder

2. Use the 4th picture in the folder

3. Tell us about your picture!

4. Pass it on!

Here is the 4th in my 4th...

This is a picture of my children sitting in our garage painting some wooden cars that they got for Christmas in 06. It was on of those presents you hide and hope they never find, but on this day (summer 08) they did and we put on daddy's old shirts and let them paint. They turned out beautiful but we never did get around to actually putting them together after the paint dried!!

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T15:09:00.003-05:00

Looking back at what 2008 means to the Martin family:

In January Jamie's grandmother had a stroke and was very sick for several months before she finally passed away on March 18th. We loved her very much and have missed having her around this year for Christmas.

In March Zachary turned 4 years old and Jamie and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. Our nephew Ryan also turned 2 in March.

In April we welcomed our 2nd nephew Jeremiah into our family.

In May Andrew graduated from Kindergarten and Karson finished second grade. I can't believe how big they are all getting.

In June we enjoyed being out of school and doing fun things as a family like going to the aquarium in Georgia and the kids went to several fun camps at the church.

In July we spent a week at the beach with my dad and my brother and sisters. It was the first time in several years that my dad had all of his children together at one time. We had a great time!!

In August we again returned to the happiest place on earth Disney World. My dad went with us and had to come home on the second day but we still managed to have a great time together as a family. I can't wait to go back in March for spring break with to of my good friends and their families. This month Karson started third grade, Andrew first grade and Zachary started his last year at Anderson Mill Rd ELC. I can't believe he will be going to K5 this year.

In September I turned 27 years old. We also started renovating grandma's old room in our house for Karson. Little did we know that 4 months later we would still be working on this project. I hope to finish in the next month and move onto another project! We also welcomed our 3rd nephew into our family Clayton Michael McGraw.

In October Karson turned 9 years old, and we be double digits next year. Wow!!
I also managed to pull off the first surprise of my lifetime on my wonderful husband who turned 30 years old this month. It was the only time I had ever kept a secret from him!!

In November Andrew celebrated his 7th birthday at Chuck E Cheese. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all sides of our families.

In December we had a great Christmas and my kids like always got way too much.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-30T22:16:00.000-05:00

On Christmas morning Karson was the first one awake at 6am, Andrew got up around 6:20am, and finally Zachary got up around 7am, so at 7am Jamie and I got up and we all went into the living room together. Every year at Christmas we always have a rule that no one can go see the presents until everyone is awake and we all go see what Santa left together. The kids were very excited to see that Santa had came and left them so goodies. Karson got a razor electric scooter, Hannah Montana helmet, DS game, and a few small things.

Andrew got a razor electric scooter, race track, a batman sword, and bakugans.

Zachary got a power wheel, helmet, batman sword, and bakugans.

After we played for awhile we went to see what Santa left in our stockings. He always leaves us new toothbrushes, bath stuff, and candy. This year we also got new Bibles.

Since it was so warm we decided to take the kids outside to enjoy their new presents from Santa.
Around 10 Jamie's mom, dad, sister and her family came over to have Brunch and open gifts. We had some delicious food and the kids were excited to get more gifts. Ryan loved his presents from Aunt Mer especially his Mac truck from the movie Cars and his Mater shoes. We all played Wii and are you smarter than a fifth grader.

We also took the kids back outside to show off their riding toys. we had a great Christmas but I am glad that it is over. I enjoyed getting to spend time with all of our loved ones and most of all my husband who has been off since Tuesday.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2008-12-30T14:00:00.000-05:00

On the night before Christmas the kids sprinkled their reindeer food outside and put out the cookies for Santa. Our stocking were all hung by the chimney with care. I read the Christmas Story from the Bible and then we finished with the book Twas the night before Christmas, and then off to bed they went.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

On Christmas Eve morning we always let the kids open their presents to them from us and to each other. We also open the gifts that they bought at the Santa Shoppe at school. This year the kids got a small gift a piece from us and one big gift to all of them(a Wii). They always buy gifts to each other at the santa shoppe and the love watching each other open them.

After we finished opening we spent a few hours playing wii before my dad and his family came over to exchange gifts. I have 2 sisters and a brother on my dad's side. They are 18, 19, and 25 years old. My dad got the boys a wii game and a remote charger, and Karson got a new digital camera and a digital picture frame.
My sister Edie & her boyfriend
Other sister Eva

Jamie and my brother Willie playing Wii, my dad is behind them with the red shirt After they left we were headed to my grandparents house to do Christmas with my mom's family. I have 2 more brothers on this side of the family one who is 20 and has two children and one who is 25 and has 1 child. My mom and grandparents went in together and got the kids new bicycles this year. They loved them. I love seeing the look in my nieces and nephews eyes when they open their presents. My niece is 2 1/2 and she loves her Aunt Mer (that's what she calls me). All the grandchildren My 3 and Autumn, Jeremiah, and Clayton

My grandparents and two of their three children

Christmas Cookies

2008-12-29T23:59:00.001-05:00

On the Monday before Christmas the kids and I made cookies for Santa and some for ourselves also! I had bought sugar cookies and frosting for us to make. I got all of the cookie cutters and stuff out and called the kids to the kitchen. The were so excited because this is the first year that I let me just have at it. I mixed all the ingredients together and let them take turns rolling it out and we cut them into all kinds of shapes. After they were baked and cooled we got out the frosting and I let them put sprinkles, m&m's, and skittles on them. Afterwards we were all covered in frosting and sprinkles from head to toe. After we finished they each had to choose one cookie to put on our santa plate.

Rolling out the dough:

Cutting the cookies out:

Ready for the oven:

Decorating the cookies:

The finished product:

Santa's cookies:

Hollywild Zoo

2008-12-18T17:41:00.005-05:00

Every year Nana and I always take the kids to Hollywild Zoo. It is one of my favorite things to do at Christmas. Zachary has been asking since the commericals started coming on tv after Thanksgiving if we could go to Hollywild "today". Well Tuesday night I called Nana and asked her if she wanted to go because it was some what warm!! The kids were so excited that I told them they had to do fold their laundry and clean their rooms and they were finished in record time. At 6pm I picked up Nana and we were off. When we rounded the corner and Zachary saw all the lights he was so excited!! Our favorite part is always feeding the deer in the Enchanted Deer Forest. If you have never been the deer, doe, emu, and zebra's all come up to your window and eat right out of your hands. At first Andrew and Zachary were afraid but it did not take long for them to warm up. The animals were very hungry tonight and we got to feed more than normal. Before we left Zachary spotted a zebra and said that it was his zebra because it started with a "z" like him, and he said follow that zebra. We drove over to it and it stayed at our car for awhile. Nana had to hold on to Zachary because he was trying to climb out the window, he was almost on this zebra's back, and it did not even care! Karson kept watching to make sure that the emu's didn't come to our car because she was scared that it would climb in!!

Zachary's Christmas Program

2008-12-18T07:48:00.000-05:00

Monday night Zachary's 4K class preformed their Christmas Program. He did a great job. He is very shy and gets very nervous in front of large groups. He stood right beside his teacher the whole time, but he did sing!! Usually he just stands there and looks out at everyone!! Our good friend Jake had a solo and he did a great job. The video I have included is the last song the sang with the glow sticks for candles. I just loved it, I was almost in tears. This was also Zachary's favorite song, and Ms. Sophie bribed him before the show that he had to sing it very loud so he could keep his glow stick!!

Christmas at Bethlehem Gulch

2008-12-17T19:35:00.001-05:00

On Sunday night our kids 2nd - 4th grade choir performed Christmas at Bethlehem Gulch. It was great. We have been listening to the cd for months in our car and it was just okay, but they kids did a much better job than the CD!! I had front seats because Joye Hall had asked me to take some pictures, and I took over 100 pictures, so I will just share a few with you!

The Angels

The Sheep

The Shepards

Ms. Diane

The Star Girls

Jed, Matt, & Ray

Karson making a cross out of cloth

The Dog

Spartanburg Christmas Parade

2008-12-17T07:08:00.004-05:00

Last Tuesday night we went to the Spartanburg Christmas Parade with the Waddells, Laneys, and the Harrison's. My kids love going to the parade, and I enjoy it more now that it is at night. Thankfully it was not to cold and the kids were really good!!

Andrew & Jake

Addie

Brynn & Zachary

Braeden & Brycen

The Girls

The Survivor China Couple

Hillbillies

Ella Kate (I had to be sneaky to get this picture, Ella was not in the picture taking mood tonight)

Happy Birthday

2008-12-14T00:01:00.003-05:00

Today is the 1st Birthday of my blog. I am so proud of myself for keeping it going. At first I only posted once or twice a month, but I have really gotten better at posting more often. My husband says that I am a addicted. If I am at home I enter the blogging world at least once a day!! I am thankful for friends I have gotten to know better and a few new friends along the way through blogging. So here's to another year of good times:)

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-10T00:01:00.002-05:00

Dance

2008-12-08T19:05:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday nights Karson goes to dance. She is taking poms and jazz. This past week was parents night. Normally you are not allowed to go in and see what they are doing but this week we got to go inside. There are 9 other girls in her class and for her first year she is really doing great. They are working on stretching their bodies so they can do splits and the basics of the moves for their routines. I can't wait to see how much they learn for the recital in April.

Stretching their legs on the bars

Backbend

More stretching

Strutting her stuff (What she does best)

Jamie's Christmas Present

2008-12-08T11:30:00.000-05:00

Last week Jamie and I went to Circuit City to pick out his Christmas Present. It had to be great because of what I got. He decided that he wanted a new tv. I was thinking maybe a 40 inch. We go to the store and Zachary and I sit down on a couch and watch tv while he was looking and talking to the store people. A teacher from work comes in and we start talking. Jamie says he is ready to go. When we get in the car I am shocked to find out that he has already purchase a 50 inch flat screen tv and we need to go home and get his truck because it will not fit into my van. This is the very first tv we have ever bought for ourself!! Hopefully for the price it will last forever:)

Decorating the Tree

2008-12-07T23:30:00.002-05:00

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas Tree. It is an aritifical tree that we bought several years ago. It is one of the pre lit kind and it has never really worked right. Anyway, Jamie brought all the stuff inside and the kids and I got busy putting the ornaments on. This is their favorite part and the very first year that I did not rearrange the whole tree after they left the room. Jamie helped them put ornaments on the top and Karson and Andrew did a great job spreading them out. Jamie always does the honor of putting our angel on top. We normally decorate our outside the same day but it was raining so that had to wait!!

Voila!!

The finished product

Jamie putting on the angel

Family Pictures

2008-12-07T19:21:00.004-05:00

This afternoon we went to Sears and had our family pictures made. This is the first time since Zachary was born that we have had professional family pictures made. They turned out great. I can't wait to go and pick them up on the 17th. I also purchased a package that came with a cd of all the pictures taken, and it gives me written copyright privileges. Enjoy!!

Thanksgiving Pictures

2008-12-07T18:31:00.004-05:00

Okay here are the Thanksgiving pictures I promised! These are the very first pictures on the blog with my brand new camera:)

Nana, Jamie, & Ginger

Sam's Parents (don't ask me to spell their French names)

Daddy's Papa

Nana & Mr. Steve

Karson & Jeremiah

Autumn

Clayton (newest nephew)

My baby brother (Josh)

Cousins playing outside

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

We've been elved..

2008-11-29T16:56:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T09:32:00.002-05:00

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I have been up since 7am cooking sweet potato casserole. This is my speciality every year for our family dinners. We will be traveling to Duncan around 1pm to have lunch with Aunt G and then around 6pm going to my grandparents to eat lots of turkey and dressing. I can't wait to take pictures with my new camera and I will share them with you later today!!

Rhonda, Summer L. and I will be going standing in line at ToyRUs at 2am in the morning freezing to death, so remember us while you are sleeping in your nice warm bed tonight.

Andrew's Birthday

2008-11-26T16:49:00.005-05:00

On November 23rd our middle child Andrew turned 7 years old. It seems like only yesterday he was born, and now he is in 1st grade and can read! On Sunday we had a dinner with family at Olive Garden to celebrate. Nana made Andrew a delicious cake and he got the much anticipated Bakugans.

On Tuesday night we had a party for him at Chuck E Cheese. He had 12 friends show up and we had lots of fun. He has really enjoyed playing with his new toys all day today. The funny thing is Zachary and him are so close that it is almost like Zachary had a birthday too!! He has had as much fun as Andrew playing.

Andrew & Austin

Sam, Aunt G, & Ryan
Zachary & Brynn
Karson & Ella Kate
Brandon & Brynn playing a game
Zachary working hard to get all the bee's in the beehive
Brycen driving a car
Look at my cool new car
Jake eating yummy pizza
Karson has been afraid of Chuck E Cheese since she was a little girl and she is hiding under the table because he came out to dance for Andrew, You would think someone who has been to Disney World 2 times would not be afraid of those things, but she is so afraid of that big mouse for some reason, This picture will be good black mail someday!!

Early Christmas Present

2008-11-26T16:36:00.003-05:00

I got my Christmas present today. I am so excited!! For years Jamie and I have both wanted a really good camera to take pictures of the kids with. Jamie has been researching cameras for the past few weeks and finally found the one he wanted to buy me. So this morning we got up and he said we needed to go to Circuit City, he had found a great deal on a Nikon D40. I was so excited. I have been playing all afternoon with it. I can't wait to use if for real tomorrow at our Thanksgiving dinners. Now I have to think of something equally as great to get him for Christmas:)

A big thank you to the greatest HUSBAND in the whole world!!!

Thankful Tuesday

2008-11-25T16:16:00.000-05:00

I thought with it being so close to Thanksgiving and having lots to be thankful for that I would try and start doing Thankful Tuesdays.

10 things I am thankful for:
1. That I serve a loving and forgiving God
2. A wonderful husband who works hard to support his family
3. 3 healthy children: Karson who always has something to say, Andrew who never runs out of energy, and Zachary who test my patience on a daily basis
4. Jamie's family who has always accepted my from day one and they are always there for us
5. Summer, Rhonda, & Tracy: the best friends a girl good wish for
6. A wonderful job working with great christian women on a daily basis
7. being able to work part time and spend time with my children daily
8. having a wonderful and supportive church family
9. the best two year old class a teacher could have
10. Being saved by God's grace and finding Anderson Mill Rd. Baptist Church 4 years ago

Trunk or Treat

2008-11-25T07:33:00.003-05:00

I am almost caught up!! On Halloween every year our church host Trunk or Treat. This is the second year that our family has hosted a trunk. Actually our Sunday School class host the trunk and we just supply the trunk and decorations. They actually bring all the candy, and I mean we need lots of candy. People start lining up at 5:30pm for and event that doesn't start until 6:30. It is amazing to see how many people come through the line in 1 1/2 hours. We went through so much candy, but we had lots of fun. They boys really enjoyed giving out candy and seeing all the kids in costumes. Karson went to a friends trunk to help them give out candy and to hang out with the girls.

Thanks Summer!!

2008-11-24T22:20:00.003-05:00

Thank you to Summer for my very first blog award!!

*****This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."*******

And my awards go to...

1. The Wuenschel Family
2. Our Crazy Life
3. A Dearybury of a Day
4. it's all small stuff
5. The Adventures of the Timmons
6. Hanging with the Hoffmans
7. Looking for God's Treasures
8. A Slice of Real Life

First Tooth

2008-11-24T22:12:00.004-05:00

Andrew lost his first tooth on November 4th. His tooth was a little loose and he sat down at the table to eat an apple for snack and he started crying that his tooth hurt. I called him over and wiggled his tooth and it was very very loose. I told him we were going to have to pull it and he freaked out. We agreed that I could wiggle it and I could not pull it. Eventually I wiggled it loose. It never fails that Jamie is always at work when my children loose their teeth, so I always call him and he is in charge of the "toothfairy". The next morning Andrw woke up crying because the toothfairy did not come, I had to come up with something quick and we decided that he was sleeping to far away from the ladder on the top bunk and the toothfairy couldn't reach his tooth. So the next night he slept on the other side and the toothfairy came!!

Karson's Birthday

2008-11-24T21:56:00.006-05:00

Karson turned 9 years old on October 19th. We celebrated with family on that day by eating out at Sunny's Brick Oven Pizza. She wanted a cookie cake so that's what we had for dessert. Nana and Aunt G got her lots of nice things for her new big girl bathroom. She also got a cute "teacher" outfit as she calls it from Nana and Papa.

On the Sunday after her birthday we went took a few of her friends to see High School Musical 3. We got her a High School Musical 3 cake and the room at the movie theater was set up to look like a production set. She loved it. The kids got to play pictionary while we waited for the movie to start. About 10 minutes before the movie was set to begin Karson and I got to go upstairs and she got to start the movie. This was her favorite part of the birthday party. The girls really seemed to enjoy the movie even though a few had already seen it. Andrew came to the party and wanted to go home so Nana came and got him, but Zachary wanted to stay and sit with the girls!! I can't believe that my baby is already 9 years old. Next year she will hit double digits, can you believe it!!

Columbia Zoo/ Boo in the Zoo

2008-11-24T21:22:00.007-05:00

In October Stacy Cotheran and I decided to take the kids to Columbia to the zoo. They were doing Boo in the Zoo that night and we did not want to drive all that way and not see the animals so we left before lunch and arrived in Columbia @ noon. We had lunch at McDonald's and then headed to the Zoo. We went ahead and bought our tickets for the boo in the zoo event when we bought our zoo tickets. They kids had a great time and got to see lots of animals.

Around 5pm we left and went to have dinner and to get the kids changed into their Halloween costumes. We arrived back at the zoo around 6pm and walked right in. We got lots of great candy. Karson and Zoe loved the dance party. The boys really liked roasting marshmallows. Andrew touched a hissing cockroach, and Zachary got lost for a short while but he did great because he wouldn't speak to no one and I found him in like 2 minutes. I was scared to death!! Columbia Zoo is much much better than Greenville, even though it cost more!!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-16T20:23:00.005-04:00

Yesterday Nana called and said that she had pumpkins for us that left from our church's Fall Festival. Tonight I decided to go and get them and try our hand at carving them. Jamie was at work so it was just me and the kiddos. After I started cutting the tops off I remembered how dirty and disgusting pumpkin carving was, because that is normally Jamie's job.

Karson and Andrew did help the best they could cleaning out the seeds, but Zachary started gagging and said that it looked GROSS!!
I pretty much cleaned out three big pumpkins all by myself. I was covered from head to toe in pumpkin guts. After the yucky part was finished we brought them inside because it was beginning to get dark and we started the fun part. Zachary picked a Frankenstein to carve first. I didn't do to great on it!! Andrew went next and he picked a fang face. I got a little better with this one and it doesn't look to bad. Karson went last and she choose a difficult cat. I was scared, but it was the best one!! We then took them outside, turned off the lights,and lit up the candles.

It was very dark outside our house and the kids were scared. I asked them to blow out the candles before we came in, and Zachary bless his heart blew his out and took off running inside. Little did he realize was the front glass door was closed. He ran face first as fast as he could into our front door, because he was scared after he blew out the candle.

Happy 30th Birthday!!

2008-10-15T07:16:00.003-04:00

I would like to wish a Happy 30th Birthday to my wonderful husband Jamie!! On Sunday after church I threw a Surprise Party for him at Pizza Inn. It was great because he had no idea that anything was going on. It was the only secret that I have ever kept from him in the 11 years that we have been together. I was so proud of myself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my best friend, my protector, and my big kid!!! I hope we have many more birthdays together. Love you always!!!

Dance Baby Dance

2008-10-01T20:49:00.002-04:00

In September Karson started taking dance at Teele. She is taking a combination jazz and pom pom class on Wed afternoon. She took dance a few years ago and didn't like it too much because of the outfits she had to wear for her recital. She decided that she wants to try again. Dancing is one of her favorite things to do at home. Hopefully they will teach her the way nice respectful young ladies dance, because those of you who have seen her style of dance know that she has her own unique style to say the least. :)

My attempt at a bun!

Upward Models

2008-10-01T20:41:00.005-04:00

I find it very interesting that both of my children have been used by Upwards in their advertisements this year and last year. If you haven't noticed Karson is on the Upward signs for flag football and cheerleading that you see in peoples yards and on the side of streets. Last year she was on the same signs. Andrew is on the website, the referee books, and was in Parent Life Magazine last year. His picture is just precious of him praying. Now they both like to tell people that they are famous!!

The picture of Andrew comes directly from the Upward website and the sign of Karson I got from school today.

Marriage?

2008-09-29T08:50:00.000-04:00

Last week at school Ms. Sophie's (Zach's teacher) came up to me and asked, Do you know who Zach is going to marry? I of course said yes I already know BRYNN!! For the past 2 years Zachary and Brynn have been planning on getting married. I thought that it was just a phase and he would soon move on to something or someone else, but two years later it is only getting worse. Everyday ( I am not exaggerating) at some point during the day he informs me that he is going to marry Brynn, and when they get married her name will be Brynn Martin. While we were shopping last week he asked Jamie how old he had to be to get married and he told him 26, so he announced to the entire store that when he turned 26 he was going to marry Brynn and that she was going to have a baby in her tummy. Needless to say I could have crawled under a rack. People looked at me like who would teach their child this. Here is another example from dinner last Saturday night:

Brynn to her mom: "Mom, Zachary won't give me hug"

Zachary to Brynn's mom: "I don't want to hug her I just want to marry her!!"

Zachary to waiter: "I would like chicken nuggets and french fries for 2"

Bowling

2008-09-23T18:52:00.003-04:00

On Saturday night we went bowling with the Laneys, Waddells, and the Harrison's. We went to Paradise Lanes with 4 adults and 9 children. All the men stayed at Tracy's house to watch football. Before we went bowling we also took all the children to eat by ourselves while the men went to Chief's. We went to Denny's since it was kids eat free and we were there for 1 1/2 hours. I am sure they were ready to see us leave. All the kids got face paintings there before we left. Everyone except Brynn got a tiger face just in different colors. Brynn told the guy she wanted a unicorn and we are still not sure what she got. But she was convinced that she had a unicorn, so we just let her be. At the bowling alley we had a great time. It is pretty sad when a four year old, Braeden, almost beats all of the adults and he did wind up beating one of us!! I can't wait until the guys return the favor and we get to have a girl's night. I just hope it is sooner rather than later.

Happy Fall

2008-09-22T20:34:00.002-04:00

I was so excited when I woke up this morning and I thought about it being the first day of fall. I love love love FALL!! It is my favorite season of the year. I love the colors of the leaves as they fall, the art projects that you can do in your class, the cool weather,football and Halloween!! I am ready to pull the new clothes out and really enjoy fall, but mother nature has better things in mind. I can not believe that it was 80 degrees today. I can only hope that the real fall weather is not far behind!!

I discovered a new talent!!

2008-09-06T21:09:00.004-04:00

With tomorrow being Grandparent's Day and Monday being Jamie's grandmother's birthday we decided that we needed to get some flowers to go on her grave. For those of you who don't know Jamie's grandmother who lived with us and we took care of for three years passed away in March after having a very serious stroke. Anyway on the way home from eating dinner tonight we went by the graveyard and Zachary wanted to stop at Grandma's "cradle", (that is what he calls her grave), so we did. We we got there he wanted to know when we could bring her some flowers, and we said maybe tomorrow. We then went to Hobby Lobby to see if we could find a pretty arrangement to put on her grave. She doesn't have a headstone yet so there is no flower holder. While we were at Hobby Lobby all the premade arrangements were so expensive that I decided I would try and arrange my own thing. I have never attempted anything like this before so I was clueless, but for $18 dollars you have to see what I made. Jamie and I were both shocked at how good it looked. I am now thinking I should make a center piece for my table. What do you think?

Disney Day 7

2008-09-06T20:50:00.005-04:00

I can't believe we have been back three weeks and I have not finished my Disney post. The day after we got home I helped my two friends with the consignment sale at our church, and then the next week I went back to work.So here is my final Disney post because I have to start preparing for our next trip Spring Break 09!!

This was our last day at Disney and we were all exhausted. We had a lot scheduled today and we decided last night that we were probably not going to do all that we had originally planned to. We had breakfast reservations at one of our favorite places Chef Mickey's. The kids had been talking about eating with Mickey all week. The also were excited about riding the monorail to get to the restaurant. Our reservation was not until 10am so we got to sleep in a little while longer than the rest of the week. During breakfast they play a song and all the characters and kids get to twirl their napkins in the air.
All the characters come around to your table for pictures, but this is a buffet type place so we would run to the buffet and run back so that we would not miss any characters.

After breakfast we rode on the monorail for awhile because the kids loved it. After we got back to our room we let the kids choose to go swimming all afternoon, or go back to Magic Kingdom and watch the night time parade and fireworks show. The vote was unanimous for staying and swimming at the hotel. I packed up all of our luggage while the kids watched tv and then we headed to the pool.

I was so happy that they choose to stay even though the parade was my favorite part last year. I was pooped!!!

Disney Day 6

2008-08-20T07:17:00.004-04:00

Today we were up early to head back to the Magic Kingdom. There is just so much to do at this park that you have to have two full days here to get it all done. We were first in line to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride which the kids loved and then when we came out we got to meet Stitch. After that we headed over to try and meet the princesses. There is always such a long line to meet them that we were trying to arrive right when they opened. It was great because we only waited like 10 minutes and we got to see Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle.

After we meet all the princesses we rode the Goofy rollercoaster and went to ride Peter Pan again. It was only about 10:30 and the kids were getting hungry so we took a few pictures in front of the castle and Jamie ran over to one of our favorite restaurants from last year to see if we could get in right at 11.
The had one reservation left right at 11 and your whole party had to be there, so the kids and I ran to meet him. We ate at the Plaza Restaurant which is a sandwich and milkshake type of place. While we were eating it came up a huge thunderstorm. I mean pouring down rain and thunder and lightning. The kids were terrified and we were thankful that we were safely inside. I have never seen so many people try and squeeze under a covered walkway in all my life. At one point Karson had to go to the restroom and the only one was outside, and I thought we would never get through all the people seeking shelter under the covered walkway. Anyway lunch was great and by the time we were done it had finished raining and the sun was coming out again. We were headed back to our hotel to swim and wash clothes. When we got outside of the restaurant to find our stroller we realized that it had gotten soaked and wet. We had to pour the water off of it the best we could and head for the bus stop. On our way out we stopped to meet Jimmey Cricket, I had never seen him before at Disney. After our short rest we rode a boat to Downtown Disney for some shopping and dinner. For dinner we had Earl of Sandwich and it was delicious. While we were shopping in a huge toy store it came up another big thunderstorma and the store got so crowded that you couldn't even move. The boys made light sabers in the store and loved it.

Disney Day 5

2008-08-11T20:11:00.004-04:00

On Thursday we went to Animal Kingdom. This was set to be our longest and hottest day of the whole week. We had no scheduled break because this park closes at 8pm and we had a dinner reservation in the park at 6pm. We arrived at 8:15 and had to wait on the park to open. Again we watched an opening show to open the park. Jamie went to get us a fastpass for the Safari ride and the kids and I headed to Dinosaur Land. We rode the Triceratops Spin twice while we waited on him. When Jamie came we all rode Dinosaur. This was the scariest ride that we rode all week, Jamie and I both were scared. The kids liked it though. After that we went and looked at some animals but it was so hot they were all sleeping.

(This picture was taken on the safari bus with no zoom of a giraffe eating right next to us, it was amazing)
We stopped and had a snack and tried to cool off. It was only 10:30 and we were already dripping wet. After our snack we went to the Nemo Musical Show. Luckily this was a 40 minute show inside an air conditioned building. After the show we had a nice BBQ lunch but we had to sit outside in the heat. After lunch we rode the safari and went to see a few characters with little wait.

We were getting very hot again so we went to the the Lion King, which is air conditioned. This is my favorite show from the whole week. Zachary had to pee right after we had waited in line for 20 minutes just to get into the show and we were determined not to get out of line, so we waited until we had seats and then Jamie left to take him. After that we went to a Pocahontas animal friends show, but it was outside and hot!! Next we decided to go and ride Expedition Everest, but Zachary was not tall enough and Karson did not want to ride. Andrew and I rode it first, and Jamie went and rode next. At this time it was only 5 and we were ready to eat and go. We decided to try to get into our restaurant early and I was so glad that they were able to seat us immediately. The food was delicious, and we left and went to bed early tonight.

Disney Day 4

2008-08-11T19:49:00.005-04:00

Today we went to Magic Kingdom. This was our first time this trip going to the Magic Kingdom and the kids were so excited. We arrived at the gates at around 8:25 and had to wait for opening. At around 8:50 there started there opening show to open the park. It is cool because all of the characters come out on the train and the you get to countdown from 10 to open the park.

We then rushed over to Dumbo and all of Fantasyland. At around 10 am we had rode all the rides in Fantasyland and moved onto Adventureland.

The kids decided to try Splash Mountain so we got a fastpass for this and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We went to watch the Country Bear Jamboree. We left to eat lunch at our hotel and rest and then we came back to eat dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. This place was delicious and all the characters came to our table for pictures. We had mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, green beans, ham, turkey, and steak. One of the best meals of our trip!

We then went to ride the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Carribean. We finished our night by riding Splash Mountain. The kids loved it but we were all soaked and tired so we went to our rooms to sleep.Before we went to bed Jamie decided to take a picture of our kids all sleeping in one bed. We had a trundle bed in our room for Karson but they all wanted to sleep in one bed, and we didn't feel like fighting with them.

Disney Day 3

2008-08-05T20:20:00.003-04:00

Tuesday we went to Hollywood Studios again. We were at the very front this time and we made it to Toy Story Mania very fast. We also went to a Play House Disney show. Zachary loved it and he said that this was his favorite part of the week so far. We then went to ride the Great Movie Ride, which was a boat ride through scenes from some old Disney films. Afterwards we ate lunch at Toy Story Pizza Planet and then we left for the day. When we got back to our room, we found some towel animals and I took some pictures of our room. We decided to spend the afternoon in the pool and I washed some laundry. My dad and stepmom unexpectedly had to leave today because her dad passed away. They were so worried that we were going to be mad at them. For the rest of the week we are on our on, which makes me a little nervous. We are trying to figure out what to do about our luggage because my dad was supposed to take it home and our airline charges twice as much when you don't pay for your luggaage with you original reservation. Anyways, tonight we took a boat ride around our resort and had dinner at our resort also.

Disney Day 2

2008-08-05T20:11:00.003-04:00

On Monday we went to Epcot. Last year this was our least favorite park, but this year we really enjoyed it. All the kids are over 42 inches so they can ride almost everything with us. They were scared on most of them, but they would just cover their eyes. I was so proud of them!! We all rode Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space.We had our pictures made with a few characters while the lines were still short. We had lunch at the park before we left for a nap. Today we all had to have a nap, because we were all to ill after a late night last night. We returned to the park around 5pm and had dinner at Coral Reef, which is a steak and seafood place inside of an aquarium. After dinner we went to find our places for Illuminations, and the kids and Jamie played their Nintendo Ds games until it was time for it to start. We loved the show and then we had to fight the crowd to get out, but we made it back to the room around 11pm.