For Heather

Even the sun sets in paradise

I can't get this song out of my head.  I love it!

A good chuckle

Christian Grey likes Enigma too.

Ridiculous

Everyone has their own opinions.  I don't support Obamacare and you can bet your ass I will be voting AGAINST him for re-election this year.

Thought for the day

Dangit

WHY does the pool have to play "Homesick" by MerciMe every single time I'm here? Ugh. Thank god for sunglasses to hide tears. :(

Today's reminders that I'm older

1. I put on SPF 50 at the pool. 2. I actually said the words "That looks scary" when watching a movie preview. 3. I added "sun hat" to my list of stuff to buy at Target.

I love summer

This is how I spent my lunch break today:

Joining the Y has been the best decision I've made this year.  While I'm not working out as much as I would like to, we have more than gotten our money's worth out of the pool!

Hmmm

GPOY(and your injured child)W

Poor Tyler.  He fell down on the hardwood floors and busted his mouth yesterday.  I had to share this picture though because how cute was he when he came home from school with his face painted like a clown?  My sad little clown busted his lip and his gums.  He's still cute as a button though!

Total side note: how long is my hair?!?!  I think I might be getting a few inches cut off on Friday.  Thoughts?

It's all in the details

FACT

The grey hair on my head is out of control.  I have a hair appointment scheduled for Friday and it can't get here fast enough!  The last 4 months have done a number on me... ready for the whole ordeal to be a distant memory...

Thought for the day

Oops

My 'fro claimed another one...  burnt out hairdryer.  Dammit. 

50 Mistakes Every Woman Should Make

THIS made me laugh uncontrollably this afternoon.  Thank you to Leah's blog for the good dose of humor today!

Oh, and for the record, I've committed 29 of these.  I'll let YOU figure out which ones they were!

True Confession Tuesday

We just got the proofs back from our photo shoot with Heather Lauffer and I want to buy every one of them.  All 53 pictures - they were THAT GOOD.  My kids are so beautiful - that's a good reason to drop a lot of money, right?  :)

Our Disney trip, in pictures

 Our first day began with the Magic Kingdom.  Brier finally rode Space Mountain with me and he hated it.  I cried a tear at that thought and then remembered I had another child who would probably love the rides as much as I did.  There's still hope!

Brier actually started feeling really bad the first day.  Turns out he had strep throat and an ear infection, so we called it a day and went to bed early.

We made it back to Magic Kingdom for Day 2 and managed to stay late enough for the fireworks.  Tyler, unfortunately, was out like a light before they began and he slept through the entire show.

Day 3 found us at the Islands of Adventure (part of Universal Studios).  I wouldn't recommend this park if you have children smaller than 12 years old.  This is designed for much older kids, despite having a "Dr Seuss"land.  Brier was too short to ride many of the "good" rides, and it was a $300 waste of money to go for one day.

I would have paid that $300 and then some to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  WOW, was that place cool.  I totally geeked out and took a bunch of pictures (on the other camera).  Brier and I rode the HP ride and he bought his very own wand (he picked out Voldemort's wand - that explains a lot!) and we even played around with the Gryffindor stuff.  It's cool having a neat last name.

We rode the Dr Seuss rides, we rode the Spiderman 3-D ride, and we even rode the Pterodon Flyers with Tyler in the Jurassic Park area.  Oh yeah, and Jayson thought it would be funny to scare the crap out of our 3 year old by letting the T Rex eat him.  He'll be scarred for life.

 

Needless to say, Tyler was wiped out after three days of no naps.

Day 4 was back to the Disney Parks and we checked out the Animal Kingdom to give ourselves a bit of a rest.  The boys had a great time.

 We did the safari early in the day, and many of the animals were out and about.  What you can't see from this picture is that these giraffes were within 5-10 feet of the car.  Crazy close!  Tyler was so excited!

We played some drums.  Tyler is better at the drums than most 30 year olds I know...

And when you're too little to ride the big rides (by a HALF inch), this is what Mommy buys you to feel better.  Meet Bob, the newest member of our family.  Bob made quite the impression for the remainder of the week.  Oh yeah, and he went EVERYWHERE with us.

Here we are waiting for the Festival of the Lion King - by the way, that was AWESOME.

 We had a character lunch at the Tusker House.  This time Brier wasn't scared of anyone.  Tyler loved seeing Mickey Mouse too!  Sadly, most of those pictures are on the other camera too.

Day 5 was spent at EPCOT!  (or Epplecot, as Tyler called it)  We immediately went and got in line for Soarin' - you feel like you are flying all over the United States.  Jayson said it was his favorite ride of the entire week (he also hasn't ridden Space Mountain... amateurs...).  This is the face Brier makes when I ask him to take his picture.  Cute huh?  A face only a mother could love.

We had fun in the World Showcase, and as always, Norway is our favorite country.  YAR!

Here is my obligatory troll kiss.  I think I have 6 of these now.

 Tyler held on as long as he could and finally took an hour long nap, IN MY ARMS, while we hung out in the American Adventure area. 

Overly caffeinated...

We never got a shot of the whole family - this was as close as I got.

Brier wanted to take this picture all day long because he had seen a picture of Daddy doing this from our first trip.  Tyler will be in the picture next time.

Our last day at the parks was spent at the Hollywood Studios, which turned out to be one of my favorite parks.  We skipped it the first time, but it will definitely be on the list for the next trip.  We had a blast!  Brier even rode the Tower of Terror and the Rockin Roller Coaster with me.  YAY!
 

 Brier got chosen to be in the Jedi Training Academy and this was a shot of him from the training show they did.  He created his own light saber and everything. 

 

Tyler had fun playing on the set props.

All in all, it was a great trip.  We will definitely stay at a Disney resort next time - we won't have a stroller to lug around and the bus system will come in handy.  We also won't bother with Islands of Adventure for quite a while.  We think it will be another 3 years before we go back - I'm already counting down!

GEEZ!

Is it time for Disney yet?!?!?!?!

True story

Every time someone in my company says "data dump" I snicker.

The season is over!

Brier's last game of the baseball season was last night.  They made it to the second round of the playoffs and then lost to a team that was #1 in the league.  They played really well and they only lost by 2 runs! 

I took this picture of Brier before the game started last night and it occurred to me today that he is SO BIG already.  I'm a bit emotional today with it being Tyler's birthday and there not being any more babies in my house, but I can't get over how fast my children are growing up.  I just wish time would slow down and freeze for awhile.

Happy Birthday Tyler!

 You are always curious.

 

You put a smile on my face.  

 You make me laugh!

There is joy in your heart.

 

You love your family.

You'll always be my baby, no matter how old you get.

I "lub" you baby!  Happy 3rd Birthday Tyler!

Real conversations

me: Are you all ready for your game?  Uniform ready to go?

Brier:  Yes but I need your help again.

me: Brier, you are going to have to learn how to put your own cup in your undies or else you can't play baseball next year.

Brier:  But Mom... that's YOUR job!


(Mom - the cup adjuster.  Geez...)

So true

Straight from my textbook

Chapter 1 Summary: "The ultimate test of a management scientist is the ability to transfer textbook knowledge to the business world. In such instances, there is an art to the application of management science...". Well that explains it. Final exam is this week. I'm screwed. :-o

Gerald!

This picture makes me laugh!  My cousin Grace bought Tyler a book about Gerald the Giraffe, and this picture looks just like him.  We love that book. 

Reason #27 that Brier is definitely my son

He chose to spend his birthday money from Grammy and Grandpa on new Nike running shoes.

Feeling Nostalgic

This was my favorite movie when I was probably 6 years old.  I don't know what it is about the song, but it brings me to tears every time I hear it.  Oh to be a child again...

The Last Unicorn

I swear I'm just a big kid

So yeah I think I mentioned that we were going to visit Disney World all of next week.  What I think I haven't mentioned up to this point is that we are also going to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, if for no other reason than for me to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Now, I know that seems a bit juvenile or whatever, but I had Brier start watching the movies two years ago so that he would understand what it was when we finally got to visit the park.  What I didn't realize was that I was going to love the movies just as much!  I can't wait.  I just want to see the enormity of what they have created in this theme park. 

Photo of the day

To the true relationships in my life, I love you all and I am so grateful to have REAL friends like you.  I hope we are in each other's lives for years and years to come.

It's a Small World After All...

Only 4 more days until we leave for Disney!!!!!

(I've almost got the house completely spotless and the children are already packed.  Now, to pack myself and survive the work week and we are good to go!)

Thought for the day

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

5 more days until we leave for Disney World!!!!!


(this is going to be the longest work week EVER.)

Photo of the day

Why yes, yes I do.

Five Fact Friday

1.  I'm going to a wedding this afternoon.  At 5:30pm on a FRIDAY.  Hello?  Does this couple not work?  Apparently they don't think any of their guests do.  :)

2.  I need to make a "box car" for my 3 year old's box car derby at school next week.  Jayson will be out of town all of next week so I actually have to do it myself.  Sigh...

3.  I conducted two conference calls today in my bathrobe and with rollers in my hair.

4.  I am excited about seeing a frenemy at the wedding today.  Not because I care to actually converse with her or even catch up with her - all because I have a bet going to see how ORANGE she will be from her fake tanner. 

5. I know... I'm going straight to hell...

Photo of the day!

Disclaimer:  I care nothing about LeBron or Koby or Shaq or whoever.  (and for the record, I know Shaq is retired.)  

That being said, this picture cracked me up.  I will always always always believe that Michael Jordan is THE greatest basketball player to have ever lived and played the game.  Oh and he's a Tar Heel.