KaraktinsinFL

Hysterical....My Special E.

2009-02-19T08:26:00.001-08:00

We're at the mall...She had to take a picture with Edward and Bella. If it were up to her....we would have paid $30 to bring him home. Not that I blame her ;0)

Paws in the Park

2009-02-19T08:04:00.000-08:00

Took the kids to Lake Eola to see all the doggies for Paws in the Park. The park was packed with every different kind of dog imaginable....And 1 cat sitting so sweetly in her owners arms...as all the doggies walked by.

It was hysterical to hear Kasey spouting off all the names of the different breeds as they passed by. I sure hope she follows her dream of becoming a Veterinarian.

Jump rope for heart

2009-02-19T07:47:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures from the girls Jump rope for heart at school...It's so awesome to be a part of these types of events at school, the organizer from the campaign came out and explained to the kids what they were doing and where all the money that was raised goes to help. It was so exciting to hear them cheer and clap!! I remember my mom being there when I was a child for school events and I hope I'm giving my girls the same memories.

2009-02-18T15:46:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures of our latest camping trip. We went to Wekiva Springs. It was Lisa and Eric's first time camping...I think they're hooked :) Lora and Melissa also joined us for the chilly night out! Lora wouldn't have frozen her butt off if she gotten IN the sleeping blanket that I layed out for her.

Melissa, being a little more experienced in the woods understood the concept of the sleeping bag.

I felt so bad that Lora froze her butt off the tent was really toasty warm. If I had been able to stay up as long as them, I would have made sure she was in it...but by the time they stumbled into the tent....I was fast asleep!!

Christmas again

2009-02-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

Since we were in Colorado for Christmas...We missed our usual Christmas here with Grammy and Grampy and had to have it in mid-January :)

Worth the wait.

It was acutally quite comical...just minutes after gifts were opened....the tree was down and everything put away....I was so over the decorations!

Pictures from Colorado.....

2009-02-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

Here's pictures from our trip to Colorado for Christmas...We went skiing with my Mom & Pete, Bobby & Ann, Jimmy & Rachel, Uncle Jim, Kim and the kids. Had a blast skiing and tubing...The girls absolutely LOVED skiing and of course LOVED the snow!!

Random girl pictures and Jacker

2009-02-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

The girls at dance class

2009-02-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the girls at their dance class. Right now they are working on routines in Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Hip Hop...for a show in June. Lots of work ahead of them.

Lora's graduation party

2009-02-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

Also in December my friend Lora graduated Cum Laude from UCF....I know how hard she worked studying and applying herself to her school work...sometimes I was in awe of her dedication...I am so proud of her accomplishment. We had a party at our house for all her family and friends.

Wow....Long time

2009-02-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

Ok....I'm not totally into this right now but I will post some pictures that I have taken since December!!

In December Nanny and Pop pop were here for their own little Christmas with the girls. The pictures are the gifts that the girls bought for us from the Holiday house at their school.

While they were here visiting, they were so great in not minding that I went to a Christmas party with some friends in Ft. Lauderdale, which was amazing. The house was featured on the cover of Parade of Homes down south. Just beautiful and it was cool to be at a real adult party :)

I'm just saying

2008-12-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

Is it bad when you realize your 8 yr old has forged your initials in her planner for school?
Yikes.

trip with Jimmy

2008-11-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

I flew to Colorado on Thursday, November 13th and headed back to Florida with Jimmy on Friday night at 10pm...We drove 17 hours the first leg of the trip and spent Saturday night in Tennessee. Then we left about 3am on Sunday morning, or I guess it could be considered Saturday night : )

Cooper and Riley were such good boys along the trip.

The only bumps along the way was when Jimmy narrowly missed hitting a deer. Well, we did hit him technically because his fur is still stuck in the bumper of the car. But it could have been much worse, as he explained to me...if we hit him head on he would have destroyed the car, and maybe us!! It was a huge male with a set of huge antlers.

I was sleeping when Jimmy swerved to avoid him and I screamed when he slammed his arm into me. You know that instintive arm that reaches for the passenger?

As I opened my eyes I saw him at the bumper when we hit him. Hopefully he's ok.

Anyway...here's some pictures. Scenery was basically the same. We did see gas for $1.59. I HAD to prove that!! Cooper and Riley were basically up in the front with us even though the whole back of the truck was empty for them. Jimmy put the baggage up close to us so they could have the room and also to keep them back there. Didn't work. I think Riley stood up by us for the first 15 hours!!

Jimmy left yesterday and Pete took the drive back with him.

It was so nice to have both my brothers here for thanksgiving...Doesn't happen too often.

Relay for Life

2008-11-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures from the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life last Saturday.

Thank you to all that sponsered me and donated to this incredible cause. Every nickel counts!! We were a part of Tammi's Trailblazers who was the 2nd place team as far as donations. We raised $7,900. Of which I raised $700. Tammi's Trailblazers was just about $200 short of first place. As a whole there were 34 teams and 380 walkers raising an amazing $80,000!!

Thank you to my Mom for being there with me the WHOLE time...even when I wasn't there, as I had to go to work for 6 hours. And when my alarm went off at 4AM for my turn to walk....I shut it off and fell back asleep....She got up and walked it for me. Thanks MOM!!

I didn't know this until the morning or I would have gotten up with her!! It was a chilly night in the tent but it was worth it!

The white bags are called Luminary Bags. They are filled with sand and a candle and are lining the whole track. You purchase the bags in memory or in honor of someone you love who has been affected or lost their fight to cancer.

The girls filled out bags for their Nanny in Heaven. And my Aunt Pat got some as well for loved ones that she's lost.

Erin's was especially heart wrenching. She drew a picture of, I'm assuming my grandmother and Erin wrote "Where is she?", then right next to the mouth of my grandmother..."I'm looking after you"....then at the bottom of the bag she wrote "why did you have to go?"

Just heart wrenching.

Snowing

2008-11-14T09:51:00.000-08:00

Woke up to snow in Colorado this morning. I know Tina S. and Lora are jealous....Anyone else?? : )

Walking with the Dinosaurs

2008-11-14T09:10:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to see Walking with the Dinosaurs on Wednesday night before I left for Colorado.

I was so looking forward to seeing it and it was all that I hoped! It was informative, educational and entertaining! The kids had a blast. It was amazing to see dinosaurs as true to life as we'll ever see. It's really hard for you to get a feel for how big the dinosaurs were. In the picture with the T-Rex and it's baby....The man that was on the stage floor narrating the story, was SMALLER than the baby T-rex!! The kids were just in awe the whole time.

Sadly, leaving the show, I realized they were listening to the narrator because Kasey was asking if a comet can hit the Earth again...Because they learned that a comet is responsible for the extinction of the dinosaur and where it hit is now known as the Gulf of Mexico! Amazing. And scary. It saddens me that she worries about things like that.

Lots of Georgia pictures

2008-11-14T07:26:00.001-08:00

Erin field trip

2008-11-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

I went on a field trip with Erin's class to see Madagascar 2. Only one chaperone was allowed to go and my name was pulled out of a hat! How lucky is that ?!?!

So we're in the theater and Erin is so "famous" that she can't sit next to me. She has to sit between her friends. Too cute.

Epcot

2008-11-13T15:35:00.001-08:00

Lora and I went to Epcot Food and Wine Festival. My first time...definitely not hers : )

She went in there with a map and a plan of attack...warning me that no one could ever keep up with her as far as sampling all the foods. Well....she was wrong. I told her I CAN EAT!!

Each country has little samples of food from $3 to $5. And you just go from tent to tent sampling food! My kind of place...I love trying different foods.

I wanted to keep going and trying more food and she gave up on me.

The highlight was David Cassidy, that's a story in itself. We walk past all the people waiting in line to see him....it had to be over an hour wait...We walk right by continuing our sampling...

We make it to the show 5 minutes before it starts. She dragged me there by the way!

Anyway...the usher said to her, so...are you a fan of David's. Lora says in her usual kidding, friendly way " no, our feet just hurt". He obviously knew she was joking and laughs and walks us up to the second freaking row. Great.....I'm with the people who waited over an hour to see him.

Lora is in her glory! Or maybe it was the wine : )

Check these pictures out...she hops OVER the seat for a picture. Hysterical.

I love her....no one can make me laugh like she can!

Kasey science project

2008-11-13T15:30:00.000-08:00

This was Kasey's first science project. She had to do the project at home and write out the process and what her hypothesis, procedure and results were.

She filled glasses of water and had put them under 4 different watt light bulbs. She'd leave them on for hours and then record the results. She did this 3 different times.

It was interesting and she learned alot. Science isn't one of her favorite subjects. She has a big test on Friday and she's been studying so hard every night with Kevin. Wish her luck!

Halloween

2008-11-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

Kasey was a vetinarian and Erin was a 50's girl. They looked adorable. Not sure if you can see it but I ordered the white jacket for Kasey and it said Dr. Karaktin. Hopefully that will be true one day : )

My friends David, Rick and Lora came over and we hung out in the driveway and gave out candy. Rick and I were playfully arguing all night because he seriously gave like 10 peices of candy to each kid! I was like HELLO?!?!? TWO!! tops!! Almost at the end of the night we had to releive him of his candy duty to make sure we had enough to get us through.

I'll try to add more pictures when I return to FL. I'm sure my mom's camera has some better ones.

Georgia trip with the Smiths

2008-11-13T15:15:00.000-08:00

We went to Blue Ridge, Georgia with our friends Tina and Roman who used to live here but moved to Ohio. We went last year with them to georgia and they invited us again this year to join them...It was really great seeing them and spending time. I miss Tina so much, we had gotten so close and were running all the time...it's just not the same without them!

The cabin was beautiful...It was the same one that the Smiths stayed in last year so we knew where it was and it was a pretty smooth 8 hour drive to get there.

We had planned to Horseback ride but the day we arrived and the following day it had done nothing but rain so the woman at the ranch canceled us because it was too dangerous to bring the kids and horses up the mountains. We were a bit bummed.

We went to the pumpkin farm and 2 apple farms and on main street they had a dog parade. It was a beautiful weekend of no fighting, no tv and just good fun for the kids...simply finding things among nature to occupy them...like making teams and throwing acorns at each other.

Lots to catch up on....

2008-11-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

Right now I'm in Colorado and have some time to myself so I'm hoping to catch up with this. I have pictures from the girls dance recital in our neighborhood, our trip to Georgia with the Smiths, Halloween night, Kasey's science project on Evaporation, my friend Lora and I went to Epcot Food and Wine Festival, Erin field trip to the movies, The Relay for Life, Walking with the Dinosaurs and of course this adventure I'm about to take with Jimmy.

I'm not sure exactly how to post the pictures since I'm on my brothers computer and not sure about how he'll feel about me downloading the 1000 or so pictures that I have on my camera. He's funny like that. Like, I'm sitting at his desk right now...and god forbid I touch his "pen". It's an ordinary black papermate pen. But I cant touch it. It might screw up his .....I don't know aura or something.

Go figure. Just kidding Bob"o".

So anyway..I'll write a little about the subject and try to post some matching pictures.

This is the girls performing in our neighborhood fall festival. I was so proud of them because as I mentioned in the past they hadn't shown too much interest in dance over the years and now they are into it and they got up on stage in front of all the people and DANCED!! They did ballet, tap, and hip-hop numbers. ok....I'm back finally have the posts written and now I'm adding pictures. I guess most of the dance pictures are on my mom's camera so I'll have to download those when I get back home.

Anchor on the WC morning announcements!

2008-10-14T10:02:00.001-07:00

For 3 days last week Kasey was the anchor for the morning announcements. She even got to announce Erin's birthday on Wednesday. I wasn't allowed in the room in which the taping was being recorded but watched on the big screen in the media center. We are so proud of Kasey for volunteering to do this because the shy Kasey I know...would never have been broadcast on tv for the whole school to watch! She's really coming into her own!

Erin's 8th birthday

2008-10-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

Erin turned 8 on Wednesday the 8th. Here are some pictures from her birthday dinner and her birthday party at Studio 6.

Friends visiting

2008-10-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

My friend Suzanne and her family came in for a visit from LI. We went to Seaworld for Trick or Treating.

Chase's soccer game in Orlando

2008-10-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

My cousin Chase (#4) is on a traveling competitive soccer team that was here in Orlando last week...They WON the games!!

So here are the cousins...Chase, Tristin, Kasey and Erin

Wow! Awesome Kasey girl!

2008-10-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

Last week, not surprising to us that know Kasey, my girl received an award for Good Character. Two children were chosen from each class throughout the entire school.

Good job my baby girl!

You go girl!!

2008-09-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

Kasey got the prestigous award of "Patrol of the Week"

She was very proud. Though not proud enough to humor me and take a picture holding the award : )

LOVED IT

2008-09-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Anyone see The Mentalist last night? I loved it! And that's just GREAT NEWS....another fricken show to DVR!!! :~)

Now that's a Bubble Bath

2008-09-24T08:02:00.001-07:00

Girls spent the weekend at Grammy and Grampy's house and had themselves some bubbly fun while on Friday night Kevin and I went to dinner and movies with some friends. Saw Lakeview Terrace. The trailers are definitley better than the movie. Was a little dissapointing. Saturday night after the day on the boat..Girls went home with G & G and we just hung around and I was in bed by 7pm!

My little dancers

2008-09-21T09:32:00.001-07:00

day on the boat

2008-09-21T09:20:00.001-07:00

Took the boat over to Daytona yesterday. Grammy's first time on it this summer...but she braved the waves with her prescription motion sickness pills : )

I AM Speaking vicariously through....

2008-09-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

http://cathyandcrew.blogspot.com/ Under the title "Political Outburst". I'm thinking it all but could never get the words out as awesome as you did Cathy!!

WTF?!?!?!

2008-09-15T16:07:00.001-07:00

Who else is pissed off that they changed the containers on the milk!! I want a DROP in my coffee...and I get 1/2 a cup that spills on the counter!

Yeah, yeah, yeah....pack more on a pallet..fit more on a truck...save gas.

Look...I'm all about conservation...but this is bullshit. I want the old containers back.

Girls got ahold of the camera again.

2008-09-15T15:58:00.001-07:00

Erin loves to give that serious model stare.

OK...so the bed thing.

2008-09-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

Kevin and the girls "camp out" on the living room floor and they take all the blankets from my bed so I have to go sleep upstairs in Kasey's room. They are always asking me to stay downstairs....no matter how many times I say..."Mommy doesn't sleep on the floor when I can sleep in a bed" : )

Sorry Kev....Not a great picture....especially with the Cheetos laying right there!

Chill people : )

2008-09-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

I've been in a funk. I haven't had much to say....And I can't say I'm completely out of my funk so here's some stuff I've been thinking about lately. I didn't realize some of you check this everyday! : ) I feel so loved!!

These are pictures of the girls little people that they play with. The two of them can sit up there for hours and play in this imaginary world. I love listening to them talking and interacting and talking in the voices of all the different people. Usually I clean it all up and pile everything into a big bucket. Last night Kevin told the girls they had 20 more minutes until bedtime...Erin yelled down "But DAD!!! It takes us 20 minutes to SET IT ALL UP!!". So while they were in school today, when I went up to make beds, ( that's a whole nother story!!) I left all their little people in place.

I'm so happy they have each other and they play so sweet together, like sisters...and in times of fighting and arguing...I need to remember that.

Kasey and Log on the job

2008-08-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Here's Kasey today waiting at her "post". This is also a picture of the bus loop where the buses go thru first, then the parents in cars to pick up their children. She opens the door for the children and tells the parent to "have a nice day!". Then she closes the car door. In the morning she patrols in the first grade hallway before the kids go into their classroom. She comes home and talks all about how she plays games with them to keep them quiet. Like the quiet game and heads up-7up. Which I remember the name of but have no recollection how to play! The good ol' days.

Lesson learned

2008-08-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

We're sitting watching a movie on TNT" what women want", with Mel Gibson, when he hears womens thoughts...anyway...in the movie to get this gift, he accidently electrocutes himself in the bathtub. OK...commercial break
Erin says..."so that means you can't get the hairdryer wet?"?!!?!
me...Erin? You didn't know that? Have I never taught you that??!!
Erin...No.
me....Kasey, Do you know that?
Kasey....Yes.
me....Did I teach you that?
Kasey...No. I saw it on the tag on the hairdryer.
Good Lord....What kind of Mother am I ????
Then I proceeded to apologize to my 10 and 7 year old for not teaching them NOT to put anything electrical near the water. Jesus... How would they KNOW if I didn't TEACH them that!?!?!?!?
OK...I still have at least the next 10 years to raise them...I'll try not to screw it up : )

bowling last night

2008-08-23T13:35:00.001-07:00

Took the girls bowling last night....

big baby

2008-08-23T13:31:00.001-07:00

this is my 105lb dog hiding under the desk because it's thundering outside.

and his baby brother wondering what the hell the big deal is.....

Seriously

2008-08-23T10:32:00.001-07:00

My Husband just asked me if he touched the oven racks with metal tongs.....would he get shocked?!?!?! Yeah.....Seriously!!!

Fay...such crap...but I'm getting stuff done!!!

2008-08-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

We are stuck home AGAIN this week...school cancelled twice for Fay and it's barely drizzling here. We got the call last night at 9:30pm that school was closed for today.

My house is so clean you can lick the floors...wipe your fingers across my picture frames and I dare you to find a speck of dust. All the wash is done, folded and put away and hung. I even emptied out and organized the "bins" upstairs that hold all the girls crap....Polly pocket dresses, Barbie shoes, wallets, scrabble pieces, doll clothes, pens, lip gloss, flash cards, clips, barrettes...you name it...it's now in it's proper home. Yesterday I matched up ALL the socks. Erin and I took out all the puzzles and started putting them together so I could donate the ones that actually HAVE all the puzzle pieces.

The girls have been upstairs for 2 hours alone and I'm seriously afraid to go up there...I'll cry if they've messed it all up again.

While it's all perfect, and I will give her credit....Since Kasey got her new furniture about 2 weeks ago and I layed down the ground rules...no eating, no drawing on, no nail polish, no stickers..her room has been kept clean. So here's a picture of it.

Maybe next week I'll start making Kasey's cornice board for her window. I bought burlap about 2 years ago to finish the room and now that we finally have the perfect furniture...I'd better get to it!.

Jack

2008-08-21T12:27:00.001-07:00

Here are some new pictures of Jack.

Girls

2008-08-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Kasey leaving today with her Patrol Belt on...and Erin waiting to leave for school.

First day of school

2008-08-18T11:58:00.001-07:00

I can't beleive that summer is over and Kasey is in 5th grade and Erin in 2nd!

Here are some pictures from this morning.

Kasey leaves earlier with Logan since they are patrols : )

They take their jobs very seriously!!

horseback riding

2008-08-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

One morning while I did my lessons Kev took the girls horseback riding. Actually, now that I think about it....I was done with my lessons but had to make an emergency call to the carpet cleaners and wait at home for them because Jack threw up 3 times on my carpet the day before...Anyhow...here's some pics of that day.

Grandma & Pepop visit

2008-08-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Grandma and Pepop's visit. We went to OldTown/Fun Spot with them and took a ride out on the boat. Peeps brought his ski's and did some showing off! And Kevin made a good attempt trying to ski. Stick with the tube.

And on the last day of their trip we took a ride to see Great Grandpa and take him to lunch. A 3 hour car ride for 1/2 hour lunch. Woo hoo.

summer dance camp

2008-08-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

The girls went to a week of dance camp this summer and loved it. So much so that I've signed them up to attend a weekly class with this program. Neither one of them has shown any interest in dance or ballet since they both expressed their dislike for it at age 3!

They met this dance teacher at a church camp and they love her. I guess that makes all the difference in the world!

Here are some pictures of a little performance they did on the last day.

Christian the Lion

2008-07-30T08:26:00.001-07:00

There's not alot that makes me cry. At all.
This did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U&feature=related

This pissed me off

2008-07-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Last night...I finally get to sit down and read the paper....The front page was this article about a picture of a young black boy, caddying for white men in the 1930's. Someone was offended when they saw the picture in an Orlando golf club's resturant. Because the boy was barefoot. That offended person called one of our Commisioners and she's wanting the picture removed because it's racially offensive.
Same commissioner who's son was pulled over by the police...but of course that was a racial issue too.
First of all....The flippin FRONT PAGE?!?!?!? Right next to the little girl who's missing, Caylee Anthony. Jesus.
Second of all....HE REMOVED HIS OWN SHOES.
For God's sake the picture is there for 70 years....Do they not have more flippin important things to worry about than this damn picture. I was so pissed....I'm still planning on writing the newspaper to say so. I mean come the hell on people!?!?!?!
This world is so ridiculous.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/saturday/orl-caddy2608jul26,0,1574282.story

I was looking for my camera

2008-07-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

And evidence shows.....Erin had it in her room.

Ever lose your camera??

2008-07-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

http://ifoundyourcamera.blogspot.com/

Kasey with her cousins in Cape Coral

2008-07-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures of Kasey and her cousins. Kasey is in Cape Coral this week and going to Horse Camp with Chase. I got a call from my Uncle Jim this morning that Kasey was a little upset after getting off the phone with us last night. But this morning she was fine. This is the first time that she's been away from home. Erin misses her so much too. Erin got a haircut yesterday because she wanted her hair to look like Chase's and she plans to surprise the girls on Saturday when we pick them up. Chase will be returning to Orlando with us for her 4th year (I think) of Seaworld camp with Kasey and Erin.

She's an old pro now that she's stayed with us so many times but I remember it so clearly the first time she was homesick.

Mommy doesn't make this stuff up!!

2008-07-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

When we were on the cruise last week, Kasey was asking why they designed the toilets so that you had to close the cover before you could flush it. I had heard a long time ago about the germs that fly when you flush the toilet so I tried explaining it to her...Needless to say, she half didn't beleive me and was half grossed out at the same time. Just saw this little snipet today!!

The worst place for your toothbrush
On the bathroom sink: There's nothing wrong with the sink itself--but it's awfully chummy with the toilet. There are 3.2 million microbes per square inch in the average toilet bowl, according to germ expert Chuck Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. When you flush, aerosolized toilet funk is propelled as far as 6 feet, settling on the floor, the sink, and your toothbrush. "Unless you like rinsing with toilet water, keep your toothbrush behind closed doors--in the medicine cabinet or a nearby cupboard," Gerba says.

Small humanitariun effort

2008-07-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

This is a website a friend sent me cause she knows that it would interest me...It's called "Refief Beads for Darfur". It's for a really good cause & I love bracelets. Be sure to read the statistics that show up on the video pictures. It's amazing...1 bracelet pays for 2 months education. 2 bracelets pay for a stove...8 bracelets buy enough medication for 100 refugees or 1 year of education for a student....all of that and the bracelets are only $8.00 each!! Thought someone else might be interested.

http://www.reliefbeads.org/

Disney Cruise

2008-07-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the pictures from our cruise. They are all sorts of out of order!!! We left Thursday and returned back at the port on Sunday morning. The boys stayed with my friends David and Rick. They spent the day at Winter Park Pet Villa and the nights at their house. They had fun there staying with Jacks parents and grandmother. Rick told me that Harley was in the house and thru the doggie door...straight into the pool before Rick had even unloaded the car. Guess he felt at home and remembered swimming there. It is very rare that we allow them in our pool. Just because of my swimming lessons and all the hair. Anyway... there are all kinds of pictures being posted. We arrived in Nassau and took a tour over at Atlantis. On the way over they took us thru the back streets and pointed out certain buildings that were relevant to their history. Kasey was appalled at the litter in the streets and the way the buildings were so run down. I said "your not in Kansas anymore"....she didn't get it. I guess we need to watch the Wizard of Oz. I took pictures of the hospital cause with Pete just have his knee surgery days before we left I had to show him what their hospital looked like : ) He was not a happy camper at Winter Park Hospital! Also, the picture of the Police Department had people working outside of it and from the looks of their outfit....they looked like the prisoners! Atlantis's pool area was beautiful but we weren't able to get the tickets to that part. We were only able to do the walking tour...which I would have preferred to just walk around at my own leisure looking at the aquarium. It was so hot, and torture really to see all the people swimming in the pools and lagoons. And we had a little episode of a break down...."carry me". Towards the last part of the your, we lost the guide....just turned around and she was gone...we made our way back to the other side and went into the straw market. Kevin has no patience for all the bargaining that the locals try to do so he lasted about 5 minutes in there. Kasey and I walked around and everything she looked at or touched turned into an inquistion. We lasted 5 minutes longer. Buying nothing. Oh except 2 conk shells that someone was selling off the dock. One thing the guide did say was that after 15 years or so the conk shell will close up...sort of an involuntary suicide. Judging from the sale of empty conk shells EVERYWHERE...I bet many don't make it to that ripe old age. They eat it! She also said that they used to use the Lobsters in huge tanks as sort of garbage disposals back then cause they eat anything. The shows on the cruise were the best part. Although the kids love the pool and the slide. I didn't go in the pools at all....too many kids : ) All it seemed we did was eat. The next day we went to castaway cay. Got there, rented snorkel equipment and headed out. I was surprised at the water temperature...It was cooler than I like. Which is 90! So after 1/2 hour of getting the snorkel equipment on...get out maybe 30 feet...Kasey sees a fish and she's done. Now this from a huge huge animal lover, fish included. She freaked out. No more snorkeling for her. Erin continued on and did great. They served a BBQ lunch on the island and then the storms came. They cleared the beach so we headed back to the ship...I got my much needed nap and they went to the arcade. I swear I wish they bottled the energy that kids have. We waited about 2 hours before trying to return to the beach for our things...as soon as we stepped off the ship...we heard thunder. They kids got another hour in at the beach playing on this playground sorta thing in the water. All in all the weekend flew by. The kids never went into the much talked about Kids camps that they offer. As most people know they are forever glued to Kevin's hip. They had so much fun and said many a time that this was the best vacation ever...they were in awe of being on a ship. Enjoys pics!

Terry's 40th surprise party

2008-06-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from my friend Terry's surprise 40th party. Just a note...It was 80's themed : )

Publix tour

2008-06-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

Took a tour of Publix last week with the playgroup...Went through all the different areas....my favorite was the stock area. The girls liked the freezer best. Which I chose to stay out of!

Layla Shaye 7lbs 3oz

2008-06-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

Layla has arrived...doing beautifully....here's a pic of the beautiful girl. Now if we can just get everyone to stop calling her a HE : )

Holy Cross Summer Arts Camp

2008-06-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

The girls went to Holy Cross camp for 2 weeks and last night they performed the finale "Broadway Kids Style". They performed about 11 songs...Broadway bound, Do-Re-Mi, I Won't Grow Up, There's No Business...to name a few. The pictures didn't come out great at all....my friend told me to turn off my flash which helped a bit but they still aren't great. At camp they worked with a dance instructor Ms Lorraine and they loved her so much that they FINALLY have an interest in dance. They will be going to a week of Dance camp at the end of July consisting of Ballet, Musical Theatre, Jazz/Hip hop. I hope they enjoy it because since they were 3 I haven't been able to get them back into dance. Not such a great experience with Ballet at 3 years old!! I'd love them to do it throughout the school year. They really enjoyed performing last night!

Nanny and Pop visit

2008-06-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some pic of the trip to the beach...We were out running some storms that day, we saw the lighting and heard the thunder, which made Nanny a panic but all was ok and we didn't run into rain until the long long drive home.

The pic of Nanny and Erin would have been better as a video cause they were laughing so hard from being bounced and bumped around at the front of the boat...I haven't heard either of them laugh like that in a long time!

Too close for comfort

2008-06-02T18:17:00.001-07:00

here's a few pictures that Kevin took of a brush fire that was a little too close for comfort!!

I can't even begin to imagine how the people felt in the houses that were right near it. I'm guessing the fire was about a mile from us.

One was taken from our driveway and the others were taken at the entrance to the school, which is just across the street from us.

Kasey award

2008-06-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

And....last but not least.....Kasey received an award for A B Honor Roll.

Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa : )

The Many Faces of Kasey

2008-05-29T18:37:00.001-07:00

Bolder Boulder pictures

2008-05-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

King Jack

2008-05-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

I had to post this picture...I found it while searching my mom's camera for more Colorado pictures...This was taken the day Jack came home from his second surgery. My mom and Pete picked him up from the Dr. and he had the royal treatment. Funny thing is...My mom said "He's not laying on the couch!!"....but when I get there, what do I find?!?! The whole couch/sofa bed pulled out and made up for him!!

"E" award

2008-05-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

Erin received the Principal's Honor Roll....Yeahhhh "E"....Way to go girl!!

Bolder Boulder

2008-05-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

Kasey and I went to Colorado on Saturday so I could run in the BolderBoulder with my brothers Bobby and Jimmy, my sister-in-law Ann and Jimmy's girlfriend Rachael.

I have to wait to post some pictures cause my mom had the camera that day. The day I arrived I tried running and after 2 miles I couldn't bear the feeling in my lungs..the second day I did a mile and half....felt a little better but I was still thinking...Lord, I have to do 6.2 miles the next day! How?!?!

I was nervous. My only goal was not to walk any part of the race. I didn't walk at all. Ann and I stayed together the whole time. When we got in the car at 6am that morning...Jimmy tells me that I can't wear my I-pod. OK....well, I can't run without my I-pod! He tells me it's all in my head. Well, Yes, it is but that's ok! I was determined to sneak it in! We saw some people wearing them and I kinda shoved Ann into asking a guy that was wearing his if he wore it during the race...she came back with good news....he had always worn it! WHEWWW!

There were 53,000 people in this race...it was incredible. I tried to put into perspective to my mom when I told her the concert that she saw at the arena recently had only about 15,000 people.

Everyone started in "waves" depending on the time you submitted with your registration. Jimmy was in BB because he runs like a 7 minute mile...Rachael and Bobby were next and then Ann and I were in EE. They let everyone go maybe 5 minutes apart and psyched up each group that came alone...with a bugle and gun start. The race ran thru neighborhoods and an outside mall.

We went to this "mall" the night before and I am posting a picture of a man playing the piano...groups of people just hang out with him and sing all night.

There were lots of musicians just sitting and playing bongos or singing...it was pretty cool. Very relaxed hippie"ish" feel to Boulder.

Another pic I'm posting is one I found in the airport with Kasey. The race ended in the stadium of the University of Colorado. We came around the left curve of the stadium and finished on the other side. It was awesome. I honestly crossed the line and could have cried...I almost did! This was a huge accomplishment for me...with the altitude and I hadn't properly trained for it...I'm really proud of my and Ann's results. They are mile 1=10:11, mile 2=10:17, mile 3=10:40, mile 4=10:37, mile 5=10:27, mile 6=10:21 Finish 1:04:37. When we took off Ann started what felt like a 7 minute mile : ) I had to rein her in!! Jimmy finished in 50 minutes...Rachael just 15 seconds behind him...and Bobby 52 minutes. We had a great time...Hopefully we can make this an annual thing!

boating

2008-05-20T11:33:00.000-07:00

Went out on the boat again this past weekend....My friend Lora came....Erin and her have a common bond...Can you guess?

Reggie...Reg...Rey Rey

2008-05-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

Unexpectedly we had to put Reggie to sleep yesterday. He hadn't been eating and acting normal for two days...One of those being yesterday. So I brought him into the vet and after much hesitation, thought and self doubt...And pulling bloodwork just to be sure I was doing the right thing....we put him down....Although yesterday didn't have to be his last day, the next few days wouldn't have been good for him. He was is in kidney failure. The Thyroid meds that he had been taken for the last maybe year and a half had taken a toll on his kidney.

Here's some pictures of him in the last day or so.

He was laying around just staring into space then he got up and played with the water in the faucet....

This was so difficult because he seemed to have a little bit of life left in him...being Reggie, even growled as I handed him over to be checked out by Dr. Diane.

Now...for the first time since I was maybe Kasey's age....I have no cats...it's a weird empty feeling...They've always been my favorite animal since my first cat, Kelly.

Kasey's birthday party

2008-05-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures of Kasey's party at Horse World. I won't go into how mad I was that they wouldn't let me bring my camera on the ride to take pictures as the kids were on the horses. Insurance...blah, blah, blah. That was a huge party for us...for some girls it was their first time on a horse. And they had the nerve to ask if I wanted to buy the souvenior photo's. After what we spent...the photos' should have been included!

But...The kids had a great time...afterward we went to Cici's pizza. Then back at our house we had a huge Chocolate Cookie instead of cake. Funny thing, when my mom went into pick it up...it said Happy 16th Birthday Kasey!....Uh...not so fast!

She had it changed : )

The Dog ate my homework

2008-05-16T04:34:00.001-07:00

Kasey is going to school today with the excuse.....The Dog ate my homework!

The boat

2008-05-11T12:20:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics of the new boat. We went out this morning for the first time. The kids LOVED it.

10 Years?!?!

2008-05-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

Kasey's 10th birthday was this past weekend. As you can see her present this year was a Razor Ride on scooter. We haven't had her birthday party with her friends yet because I procrastinated up to the last second as to what we should do. We decided upon a trail ride at Horse World. It'll be in 2 weeks so check back for pics. Kasey and Grammy and I went for a manicure/pedicure on Sunday, that was a nice treat. Erin wasn't missing out on a thing as far as she was concerned, she had Daddy all to herself.

We ended up at Texas roadhouse for dinner, and poor Kasey welled up with tears when she realized the server found out it was her birthday. I had to put the nix on the singing. Also at this place they put the birthday child on a fake horse....she would have died.

So she got her ice cream and a quiet "happy birthday" from just our server.

Here's some pictures of Grampy and the girls taking a slow ride around the block, and Kasey's manicured blue nails.

Just a Wednesday afternoon in Orlando

2008-04-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

Took the kids to Hollywood Studios after school today, formerly known as MGM Studios....

They wanted to see The Jonas Brothers in their afternoon parade. Which was all of 5 minutes, as they drove past in their cars...Yesterday we went to the Wide World of Sports complex to watch the Disney games, waited a few hours and got a bunch of autographs. Not much action on the field except some stars brothers, and occasional wave from Zach and Cody, a Jonas Brother or other people on disney channel that I have no idea who they are.

It was worth the hanging out yesterday because even though there were NO CAMERAS...They got The Jonas Brothers autographs...

So as I sat thru all this, of my own doing of course, I was thinking of all I really needed to be doing at home...blah, blah blah...I scored some MAJOR MOM POINTS. Because as we all know I don't have half as many "fun things" under my belt as Daddy does. Worth it though cause this is probably a memory they won't soon forget : )

Just a thought about field day

2008-04-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

Ya know....I was just looking at the pictures from field day....and thought of something....that little skooter Kasey is riding around on......Well, when I was in school.....that thing was a peice of wood with 3 wheels screwed into the bottom!! As Kasey would say...."Back in the olden days" : )

awww my boys

2008-04-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

Took this the other morning after I yelled at them for wrestling. Jack should not be having interaction with Harley, unless they are sitting still. Which means I'm yelling at them all day.

As with the girls....one of them could care less and the other showed a slight hint of having his feelings hurt. : )

Jack goes back on Thursday to have stitches removed...he chose to remove a few himself on Monday so...he also has to have 2 staples removed.

Now he's wearing this sorry looking cone. It does help in the wrestling area. Harles wants no part of it.

Pride and Joy Pet celebration

2008-04-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

Today Kasey and I helped out at the Pride and Joy Pet Celebration...Friends of ours, David and Rick had a booth there promoting their business "Winter Park Pet Villa". We went to help out talking to people and passing out flyers and treats to the pups. Kasey had a ball all her own when we showed up and realized there were wild animals, horses and ponys, DOGS everywhere...she had a ball! She spent the first hour hanging out by the pony, Star and the horse, Jade. Of course I didn't rememer the names, she did : )

I swear if you ask her what was the name of a horse she rode 5 years ago...she'd remember.

She's going to Horse camp this summer with her cousin Chase....It is going to be an awesome experience for them.

Kasey Field Day

2008-04-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Kasey's field day. I requested to be taken off the water balloons so I monitered the darts, which was cake compared to the day before. I kept looking over at the water balloons and it probably was easier with the older kids but I wasn't taking ANY chances.

Erin...Field day

2008-04-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Erin had field day today...I helped out at the water balloon station....at first it was chaotic, but I took control after 2 classes or so. It was comical...I'd line them all up, hand out the balloons, yell for them to toss it and they'd just go at it...tossing back and forth, no order whatsoever....Needless to say (after 10 classes ) my already sore throat is a mess. Hopefully tomorrow the 4th and 5th graders will be a little more attentive and cooperative : )

Friends for more than 20 years

2008-04-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Just a picture of Kev and Steve and their kids and some fun times at Universal....we really enjoyed spending time this past weekend with them...

A trip to the Dentist/Jack

2008-04-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Kasey and Erin went to the Dentist.....Erin had 4 baby eye teeth pulled to make room in her mouth. They say her mouth is not big enough for all her teeth. I don't buy it. ; )

Well, she was miserable yesterday. Her face was all numb for hours after the procedure and she chewed on the inside of her lip, because she couldn't feel it, she kept on biting it. Today it's a swollen, gross mess.

If it weren't for that, you can hardly notice the missing teeth since they were behind the front four ones. If you do look there are 4 nice size holes though!

Here's a picture of it....Not a great one but when I realized it was blurry...she refused to let me take another.

Jack went in for his second surgery today. I just got a call that they looked at the x-rays from the first leg and they don't like the way it's healing. The part they cut out of his leg is fusing together faster than they hoped so the second leg is going to have 2 peices cut out today. He probably has to have a third surgery in a few weeks. My Poor boy.

Well...it started out as a great day!!

2008-04-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics from the beach and our day spent with the Smiths. The kids had a blast...it was so nice sitting and relaxing on the beach. Tina will kill me if I don't mention that it was VERY windy....so her hair is blowing in the wind : )

The Tudors

2008-04-08T10:03:00.001-07:00

Anyone watching " The Tudors" on Showtime? I ordered Showtime only to be able to watch this series....And I'm so glad I did. It goes back to the book I read The Other Boelyn Girl....I wouldn't have had any interest in the series without reading this book...Check it out if you can...It's really good.
http://television.aol.com/show/the-tudors/1342027/main

Pirate Cruise

2008-04-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went on a Pirate Cruise in Clearwater. One of my friends organized it thru the moms group here and the kids had a blast!!

Best of all we got to spend time with The Smith's....Luckily they are spending Spring Break over on the Gulf Coast and were able to join us. Afterward we all went to lunch at Crabby Bills.

Tomorrow we're headed back over, this time with Kev, and spend more time with them. Tina and I haven't run together since they moved to Ohio so we'll try running on the beach tomorrow!!

Harley and Jacker are spending two nights with Grammy and Grampy.

Enjoy the pictures!

Jacks home

2008-04-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

Jack came home today....His surgery as described by the Docter is " Left proximal segmental ulnar ostectomy and placement of a .062" kirshner wire as an intramedullary pin"

He goes back on Monday to remove the bandage. The other leg is scheduled for surgey in two weeks.

For now he's happy and we're happy that he's home.

So is Harley

Breaking my heart

2008-04-01T10:45:00.001-07:00

This morning I brought Jack to the vet for his surgery. I meant to talk about this sooner but I've been working non-stop.

Jack got his shots about 2 weeks ago. The very next day or so afterward we noticed him limping. I didn't think much about it cause I thought it was just from the shots. Well 9 days later, he's still limping.... I call the vet and bring him in right away. Long story short, he doesn't like the feel or look of his front legs. We had commented in the past that he sometimes looked bow legged but just chalked it up to him "growing into himself". They took xrays and referred me to a specialist. I brought him there 2 days later and they said that in Jack's forearms of the two bones, one wasn't growing at the same pace as the other, causing him pain, limping and that bowed out look. It needs to be surgically fixed asap. In laymans terms...He will have a piece of the bone removed and a pin put along the bone so it will stretch with the other one. Hopefully this will heal properly and won't require more surgeries as he ages. He's having one leg done today and one leg done in 2 weeks. And I'm going to have to get a 3rd job. just kidding.

So.....I brought him this morning. He comes home tomorrow. No word yet about the surgery. He's probably in there right now.

And this brings my to my post....Harley is just the most pathetic looking sight right now and it's breaking my heart. He misses him.

Our poor little Jacker. He'll be home tomorrow.

Kev softball

2008-03-31T11:31:00.001-07:00

I took the girls to Kevins double header on Thursday night. Wow. Ok first of all, I have not been to watch Kev play softball since Kasey was a few months old. I have been watching him play all the years we've been together. When we moved here he joined a team and it was short lived, not because the team disbanded or anything. He quit playing cause back then he didn't want to be at work and then have softball and miss precious time with Kasey and I. Forward almost 10 years later....He joins again. At my urging. Same team. And I think he's glad to be back at it.

It was just very strange there with my girls cheering them on and Erin yelling GO DADDY!!

I thought...wow. We've come a long way.

And next to me was a teenage girl watching her boyfriend...they leave holding hands in their own world. Brought me back! But happily....We leave all together...just us 4!!

Here are some pictures...Erin getting high 5's from the team, watching Daddy warm-up, Cheering the team on, and goofing around together. The two top pictures were apparrently taken when I went to get hot choclate!

pretty : )

2008-03-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

Here's the new house picture...and the old one to compare. The beginning of the process I was feeling slightly disappointed but now I love it. I really want an army green color but our association would never allow that. We talking about shutters for the front windows. Definitely upstairs but I'm not sure about the front window downstairs...since it is the 3 together...I have to see if they do that.

We also have to replace the front screen door with a black one. I haven't had it on now for a week and I miss it!!!!!!!!!!!

Doesn't the color of the house just make the sky bluer : )

Remember him like this

2008-03-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

This is the boy I want everyone to see. He was the most amazing cat for all 18 years of his life. Since he was born deaf he was sort of in his own little world but he knew how to spread his love so well. As you can tell...he was famously known for his love of sleeping on your head. With that super loud purr of his....(because he was deaf, i guess) Enjoy these pictures. I miss him already.

About Rebel - Read after LOTS TO SHARE

2008-03-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

So...Easter morning for some reason I said to Kevin "Where's Rebel"? He is ALWAYS ALWAYS in the kitchen....AlWAYS. So the egg hunt is momentarily stopped and we're all searching for him. Erin found him upstairs under the spare bed. For those who don't know...He was diagnosed with Kidney disease a few months ago....Before Christmas. For awhile he was doing really great. We were getting him prescription cat food specifically for Kidney disease and I gave him liquid Iron 2 times a day.

Anyway, he started losing weight again in the last month and not looking well. So, he was under the bed. First I'm shocked he climbed the flight of stairs...but when a cat isn't feeling well...They hide.

So yesterday morning, not a good feeling. Just in the rush of the morning...Kev fed the cats and we left. I didn't know at that point that he didn't eat. Kev told me later that night.

So when we got home he was laying on the floor in the kitchen. Looking terrible. I knew it. I told Kev we're going to have to start telling the girls. He said "not tonight"

I tried to feed him and give him water but was forcing it into him. Kev came downstairs to see him and apparently he thought as I did so, he told them...rebel isn't doing well etc...5 minutes later the entire house is crying.

He slept with me most of the night and didn't move once. In the morning he was back on the kitchen floor. This was just not my boy. He couldn't lift his head, wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink. I couldn't let him be like this another day. The kids and Kevin stayed home and my mom came over so kev and I brought him to the vet. It was an awful, awful day. Here's a picture of him in his better days on my laptop and sunning himself....then the other two with Erin are from this morning. As Kasey said this morning...it's not fair, I wish he could live forever...

Lots to share

2008-03-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

First I want to share pictures from Easter morning. We had a neighborhood Easter Egg hunt, as we do every year. There were 15 kids and they had a blast! We filled close to 550 eggs and spread them out over 1/2 our block. I have to say that Kevin filled 240 of those eggs!! I'm not thrilled with "the Easter Bunny" this year, and no one to blame but myself, but I didn't put in the effort that I have in the past and it showed. But there were no complaints from the girls, they were happy. Kasey was a little confused why the Easter Bunny would get a Wii game that we already got for Christmas! Ooops. Then today I had to explain that the returns for the Bunny go to TARGET...Not Best Buy...where she wanted to return it and search for something else. Ei Yi Yi.

The rest of the day we spent at my moms house. My Grandfather and my Aunt Pat were in town because he has some Dr. appts today and tomorrow in the area. It was the first Easter he's been here since my grandmothers been gone....7 years. So it was a really nice day. Then that brings me to my next post....

Happy St. Patricks Day

2008-03-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patricks Day....The girls were off to school in their green NY Yankee t-shirts and green braided strand of fake hair....looking so cute. Kasey refused to wear the button that say's Kiss Me I'm Irish. Erin on the other hand turned her's on the blinking mode!!
Yesterday we had our usual St. Patricks dinner...Corned Beef and Cabbage. I'm working tonight otherwise it would have been tonight. Kevin's Dad was here over the weekend and left this morning...I wonder if he's having it again tonight for dinner!
One thing that most people are not lucky enough to have is Homemade Irish Soda Bread with their meal. Not from Publix....homemade. In our family its a tradition, my grandmother used to make it, my mom makes it, my sister-in-law makes it. I do not make it.
Such a tradition that my mother made it and drove it over to Daytona to give it to my Grandfather yesterday. I know my grandmother is smiling down on them as my mom and Pete pulled in to surprise my grandfather. Last year, I think, she Fed Ex'd it to him.
My Grandmother used to work in a resturant on Long Island called Necroto's...I could be spelling it wrong. Anyway, it was an Italian place...But on St Pat's day it was Irish. She MADE ALL THE BREAD for the resturant that day. People came there for it. It was her thing.
But cooking was her thing in general....My grandmother had some sort of a spat with her boss one year and refused to make the bread! The story is still told how enraged the customers were that they didn't have Blanche's Irish Soda Bread.
One of these days I will learn how to make it....and hope by that time the girls will appreciate it. Right now it's just a funny looking bread with seeds and raisins in it. Not too appealing to them!
I was going to take a picture of it - but it's been wrapped and re-wrapped in wax paper and tin foil...it just doesn't look pretty. BUT tastes so yummy!

My beautiful Babies

2008-03-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

Just had to share these pictures that my mom took of the girls yesterday. I love them.

I have to really say thank you to my mom for all the pictures she has taken of the girls. I borrowed her camera yesterday to copy some pictures...She had 780 pictures on her camera taken since Thanksgiving!! Even everyday things that I wouldn't think to. Their childhoods are well documented thanks to her! She is NEVER without that camera! Thanks Mom!!

It's that time again

2008-03-16T11:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday they all went in the pool....first the boys. Then the girls.

Personally, I won't get in until I HAVE to!! : ) But they love it. They're back in again today.

The boys also got a special treat, this morning we took them to a Dog Park in Winter Park. It's called Fleet Peoples Park. Its a really cool, huge park on a lake and the dogs run and romp around in the water with tons of other dogs. We only go there a few times a year but Harley remembered it as soon as we pulled in. He took off for the lake. Jack was a little hesitant at first but soon was all over the place! Kevin is so cute not taking his eyes off of the boys, especially Jack. That's the reason for the bandana's, to pick him out of the crowd. When we brought Harley as a puppy, I think the stress was too much for Kevin trying to figure out which Golden was ours. Usually there are more than our Golden's there. Today we saw 2 Great Danes, and a St. Bernard!

In my opinion...

2008-03-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

We all went to see The Other Boleyn Girl on Tuesday. I was so excited to see the movie because I kept hearing how incredible it was. And our book club was reading the book so I could visualize the characters with the commercials and trailers that I saw. I'm sure the movie would be great if you haven't read the book but in my opinion....READ THE BOOK. It is incredible. I even have a few pages left and I just do not want to finish it....I'm like an addict just reading a page at a time to savor every last bit of it. The movie was just ok.
I have a bunch of books to start but I think I'm going to buy the book that follows up The Other Boleyn Girl.
I'm so glad my friend Kylie read and recommended this book because never in a million years would I pick up a book with the cover that it has or even have the slightest interest in the 1500's!! So...never judge a book by it's cover : )

MONKEY

2008-03-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

I just realized on that last blog I should have re-named it BEFORE I decided to add monkey to it....He is anything BUT frustrating! Just to make that clear : )

On the other hand, my boys, sometimes frustrating.

But LOVE em!! Who can resisit that face!

Frustrating

2008-03-11T04:05:00.001-07:00

How do you instill a love of reading? It is so frustrating!! I LOVE to read...LOVE it! But when I try to make the girls read their alloted time for school you'd think I was sending them to Chinese Water torture! Because of FCAT there is no homework this week, which is two hours of frustration usually and I'm not even the one helping the girls! Anyway....Homework is just READING this week!! So, how do you instill that love for it? We have hundreds and hundreds of books...I'm still hoping for a series or a subject to grab them.

On a different subject....I'm with my monkey today....Here he is with my boys.

My girls - Polar opposites

2008-03-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

We went to Epcot yesterday with my Dad and Barbara. Ate yummy buffet in Germany. Here's Kasey sitting outside the rides while my Special E is riding Mission Space and Test Track! Kasey and I noticed while people watching that there were so many people AMAZED when they saw sky writing....they came out of the ride and were pointing and ooohhhhing and ahhhing!! I said to Kasey where in the world do they live where they have never seen skywriting!? They didn't look like they were from another country or anything...Every other day here in Florida someone is reminding us that "Jesus loves you"!!