Disney World Bound AGAIN

I'm not sure I mentioned this, but we are going back to Disneyworld! I let DH talk me in to it:) He starts full time in the Post Office here in January. Actually he has been working lots all Fall, but it's official in Jan. As a way for him to cope with the fact that he thinks he'll NEVER be able to have a vacation as a family again, he wants to make one last big one. When I say BIG, he meant as in TEN days!! I was like oh no way! We'll come back with such a bad taste in our mouths we'll never even want to go away for a weekend. We compromised to eight.
Oh and why he thinks he'll 'never' be able to take a real vacation again? Haste you forgot, he farms. (hehe) that means vacation time will be used for planting and harvest. And i'm sure there will be days he uses to mow and bail as well. So yes, that's why this is such a big deal to him.
I'm quite excited, IF, I feel good enough. *******prego talk, skip if you want********* I have been blessedly miserable. I have not vomitted yet partially b/c I know once i start there will be NO shutting it off and I really don't have much food in my tummy. WHICH is probably the problem why I feel sick to begin with.
*************ok back to normal.
He has pretty much booked EVERYTHING. No he has done it all. Staying at the Poloynesian, got the meal plans again, park hopper and this year we're going to hit Sea World. And of course the lovely, and only, MEG!!!! will be our chaperone. I mean our driver:) I'm secretly hoping she can take Monday off too to hang with us @ the parks. Was so much fun having her with us.
Oh and we're going jan 8th. So that's coming right up. I'm afraid our kids are going to start expecting great things for vacations. We have Disney, NY, NJ, Oceans, Mountains, yikes! I'm sure the next time we head out east tho, it'll be me and the kids.
That's our other exciting news. Do you have any exciting news??

Disney Bound

DH made airline reservations for us to head back to Disney! I wasn't 100% on board. Cost, baby, C'man missing school, etc but DH was hell bent on going. He said this will be the last time he can take a vacation without having to worry about the post office. In other words, when he starts full time at the post office, vacation time will be used for planting and harvesting.
He wanted to be gone TEN days!! I was less then thrilled and we compromised with 8 days. We will probably just stay @ a Disney resort and hoping to hit Sea World with niece Megs. I hope she's ready for the return of us!
Really tho, last year was ideal. The kids were great, weather was a little chilly, and it was so nice having Meg there to be with us.
Any readers from FL?? Would you be interested in getting together??
Have you been to Disney? If you stayed on the resort, where did you stay? Last year we stayed @ Animal Kingdom and only b/c Disney didnt' process our payment so they upgraded us. Hence that's a problem. We're quite certain we wouldn't be happy with anything less. Recommendations??

I'm BAAACK

Ahhh here I am back at home after a divine long weekend away. I left BEFORE the butt crack of dawn on Thursday. As in 415AM!!! DH drove me to the airport in dense fog AND a car that wouldn't/couldn't go faster then 65mph. I ended up getting to the airport 45 min before my flight left AND being that I'm so used to going to the same terminal, I went that way. Well guess what?? Yup, it was the wrong terminal. Back out, mad dash to the OTHER terminal, oh did I mention I had to hold my pants up while I ran. I had taken my belt off to get thru security and didn't want to put it back on only to have to take off. Once to the other security check point I got behind hokey, pokey, dopey, and gang, who for whatever reason decided they should go thru security with, change, belts, camera equipment, shoes WITH LACES, and good grief I don't even know what else the one dude was pulling out of his pockets. I asked if I could go around WHICH landed me in the 'pat down' section. Of course i looked nervous/panic stricken, I was about to miss my flight!!

None the less I made it with time to spare for a bathroom break, quick as it was. The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful. For me, that's pretty rare. I met a nice lady traveling from Nebraska to PHL too so we grabbed our connecting flights together. We stopped for a quick potty break and a cup of coffee. Which again, the Starbucks people must not have had there cup of espresso. They were so slow getting the 2 people BEFORE me drinks, while mine came right away!? It was rather humerus b/c the one customer had to keep repeating what he ordered. Mind you we all THREE ordered the exact same thing BUT mine was decaf. It was very comical. I can't remember what I said after the 3rd time of the poor guy being asked but we all about lost it in laughter.

It was so fun getting off the plane and being greeted by someone you know! I miss those days where you anticipate the first glimpse of your family. My niece Megan was there:) Then we walked on out to greet Laura. So fun!!

We had lunch on this big ship before heading home to Laura's.

Friday we had lunch @ Laura and Mario's restaurant and the went to the beach. It was to cold to swim, altho the water wasn't all that bad, still beautiful as ever. We walked up the almost dead boardwalk, but again, still great to see. On our way home we stopped for drinks and appetizers along the Washington River. Great place however I had one to many mojo's?? with clams and spent the early AM hours of Saturday sick!!! In fact, I never did feel 100% the rest of the weekend. Could function, but not to my fullest ability. To much rich food combined with just a couple drinks that I'm not used too.

Saturday was NYC!! That place is a fricken ZOO!! There is no other place in this country like it, seriously. There are people everywhere. AND the driving? You so much as blink? you'll get blown off the road. Traffic moves fast with little to no regards to objects. That could be people. You have to think fast, there is no hesitation. That hasn't changed in the years since I can remember it. We walked around Battery Park, drove in very slow traffic and eventually ended up @ Carmines for supper. BTW the people sitting next to us, they ordered 1/2 a cow, i mean prime rib. Seriously that was the biggest prime rib I have EVER seen. Also i gave them my blog address, so maybe they'll pop in for a visit. Better yet, maybe they'll send me a pic so I can post how huge the prime rib was.

We had a nice supper there before heading up to Broadway to see Mamma Mia which was AWESOME! Laura upgraded our seats. So instead of sitting way up high in the back, we sat front and center. It was simply amazing and I would see it again and again. By the time we got out it was raining. Jumped in a taxi, well actually we walked for blocks to FIND a taxi, and headed home. We didn't get to bed till 2AM that night!

Sunday I honestly had to recoup. I ended up taking a short nap even. Unheard of for me. I just was so tired I felt sick. It was a rainy/dreary day but we did manage to get fall decorations (pumpkins, corn stalks, etc) bought and put up at the end of Laura's driveway. I have pictures I will upload. We played Apples To Apples, of which I won:), and ate Paella.

Monday we left for home. It was nice sitting in the airport with Megs. The time flew by in no time. Talk talk talk we did. I actually finished 'Dare To Discipline' as well as a good start on a book about the pasteurization of milk and how bad it was! I got so much reading done! Even slept on the airplane. Totally unheard of these days.

Got in last night and was home by 1030. Was nice to the kids and DH. Altho C'man screamed and tried to hit me when I opened the van door to say hello. I guess I can't blame him. DH said they whined about wanting to get on the plane.

The best news tho?? the kids did GREAT at mom and dads. Few, very few, issues with both kids but most amazing was Miss A who didn't ask once where Mommy or Daddy were. Prior to them being at my parents, when I called home Miss A would answer and say 'come home mommy'.

There is a quick nutshell of events. Seriously not sure if I'll ever get around to posting more detail. BUT MEG if you are reading, you should do a post on your thoughts of NYC !! Email me about that.

NYC/NJ Bound

I can't believe I haven't done a post about my up and coming trip to the east coast. I've been so busy with canning, of which I do not want to see ANOTHER jar upon my arrival home. I am so sick of it all!!
So yeah, I leave Thursday and get back Monday evening. JUST ME!!! I'm going out to see my friend Laura and her husband. AND my lovely niece, Megs, is joining me there. She'll fly up from Orlando. I'm so excited. Excited to see Laura of course but also excited to see my niece. I enjoyed her company when we were in FL and thought I think I could 'travel' with her:) I invited her along and she willing accepted. Now lets hope she feels the same about me! I want to share her with Laura and vice versa.
I love these two women:) Meg will be great company. She's outgoing, but not in a radical, loud kind of way. She's easy to talk to and can carry on a conversation with anyone. Example, I know she'll talk with Laura and Mario, and be genuinely appreciative of them and want to know more about them. If you ask Megs how she is, she'll answer but also ask in return. She can start and carry on a conversation. I don't like silence:) I like people to be involved. She will fit right in with Laura and I, no doubt!!

Have you ever met people who talking to them is like pulling teeth. They just are not involved in the conversation?? OK so you get the idea.

I bought tickets to Mamma Mia of which Meg and I will go to on Saturday night. Prior to the show will all eat @ Carmines!! DIVINE PLACE!! Laura has seen Mamma Mia before so she's just going to hang out while we go. I can not WAIT for the who. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that DVD! Will spend the day in NYC and I can't wait to show Megan the city!! Maybe she'll move there someday:) and I can come visit her. I hope she likes it, of which I'm quite certain she will. I like the city WAY better now then I ever did in the 17+ years of vacationing out there when my G'parents lived there.

So yeah, there's my big news on my trip. Not sure if I'll get around to posting anymore this week as I'm busy cleaning up the canning mess, I thought about calling our neighbor lady and asking what it would cost for her to deep clean our kitchen, packing myself and the kids up. The kids will be at my parents from Friday afternoon till Monday evening. I'm PRAYING Miss A does not act like she does here or starts crying for us. She's NEVER been a way from us.

Oh and there is talk about getting my tattoo while out there. Or maybe it's a thought that I have. Stay tuned!

Boji Bound

Getting ready for a weekend away with my entire family. THIS could be interesting. Mom and Dad are taking all of us kids (3) and families there for the weekend. This is where will be staying:
http://www.bridgesbayresort.com/
Looks really nice!! Very grateful that they are generous and kind enough to put all of us up here for the weekend. To off set the cost we are all taking an evening meal, or supper as we call it:) My night is Sat. and I'm making walking tacos. Heard of it?? Want to hear about it?? Basically hamburger seasoned to taste like Mexican and then put on top of corn chips. Add any toppings as you would a taco. There you have it, walk and eat it if you'd like!
In addition to supper i have been a baking fool. I have one cake and 2 pans of bars. I have lots of canned peaches, pears, applesauce, salsa, apple butter, yeah i think that covers it all. I totally feel like my friend Laura. She is totally a cooking QUEEN when it comes to vacations, get aways, etc. She has it all covered. Well that's how I feel. I would do her proud!
Ohhh I just looked at the hotel and see they offer massages....hmmmm i SURE could use one!! Wonder I can convince my sister and SIL to do it too??
We will be busy on the water slides. Renting a boat, and hitting Arnolds Park. Eating lots of food and hopefully enjoying catching up with one another. (i have a brother, SIL, and nephew that live in DC) I hope it's fun and that we all can bite our tongues should the urge come to say something that would be better left unsaid.
Not sure when the next update will come but stay tuned:)

Back From Fantasy Land

We are home and I'm trying hard to get my feet under me. I feel like I'm either still flying or on some wild roller coaster. Ever have that feeling?? I just feel so off balance.
C'man cried on the way home that he didn't want to come home. He woke up this AM crying 'I want to go back to Disney World'.
Miss A appears just fine. I think she's happy to be home. She fell asleep @ 545PM and slept till 630AM. She is having a hard time of making it to the bathroom to go potty. DARN IT!!
We all were happy to be back in our own beds but I'm missing the awesome pillows at the hotel. I guess you can buy them. I might just have to do that.
I got to have my coffee this AM and catch up with my friend Shannan. Actually I think I did 90% of the talking. But that was great talking to her again. I missed that.
Our 'banking' was totally screwed up while gone. I guess I thought I had it all figured out, guess not. I was over drawn in both my personal and business. HATE that b/c like I said, I thought all was figured out. Not sure what happened but i was po'd last night. I thought here we go off to DW and our finances aren't even in order here.
But it's all taken care of now. Oh and my credit card b/c of the mishap b/w Disney and us, not charging us our vacation till last minute. They charged us the going rate of the resort we stayed at but then AAA is cutting us a check for the difference b/w resorts. It's a pretty good chunk of money which caused my CC to freak out. SOOOO that's a mess too. Always something.
Granted none of this would have happened had the ethanol plant let DH deliver his corn this month instead of waiting till March. We are so nervous about it not paying for our corn. As some may know, the Ethanol industry is not doing to well. One near my hometown, declared bankruptcy.There is no telling when those farmers will get there money. We're not just talking $25g we're talking $50 g PLUS. So yeah, that has us nervous. Especially since the manager of the place we sold to, no longer works there (Larry, tell me everything will be OK)
SOOO anyway, we did have a wonderful time. The best was Meg being able to hang out with us. I REALLY enjoyed those 2 days. I feel I know her so much better and really like her. Not that I didn't before, but just a different level now. You're AWESOME meg and thanks for being our nanny:)
If any of you readers want to know more about DW in terms of rides, lodging, meal plans, please contact me. I'm really not going to go in to great detail on rides or probably any more of the trip. It's time to get back to the real world, and real world life dealings.
Like the Pre-School Advisory Board I was asked to be on, politics, life in general. But i would love to share any thoughts/opinions if you'd like to know. Just email me.

Disney Is Coming

In 24 hours from me posting this, we will be at the airport checking in. Assuming of course, all goes as planned. THAT the icy/wintery mix misses us, that we get out of here on time and that I get our luggage packed. Why oh why is it taking me forever to do this.
Oh yeah, I know why.
Because I need to wash undies and socks.
Realized that instead of bringing just one pair of jeans, we should bring more. Niece Megs says it gets chilly at night.
I have many Republican obligations I have to get done before leaving for an event that will take place the Friday night we get back (at the moment I'm wondering why on earth the invite I made on my scrapbook program, will not save as a PDF. Everything else I did, did.)
Have to get our Certificate of Good Standing for the CCC off to be considered for grant moneys.

I'm sure I'll be up late tonight getting everything packed while the little ones dream about Disney and my husband sleeps in the chair dreaming about how nice it is that his lovely wife is taking care of all the preparations (until we get there and he realizes he has no undies hehehe).

I had a purse party last night back in my hometown, about hr away from here. Before getting there we made what was supposed to be a quick trip to the doc to have ears checked. HA we didn't get in till 45 min AFTER our appointment. The appt itself lasted a whopping 5 min of which Miss A screamed the entire time and C'man was busy jumping off the exam table. I couldn't wait to get out of there. Ears are still a little red and he said to give them benadryl last night and tonight and then tomorrow. I hate that stuff but will abide b/c i need my kids as close to 100% as I can get them.

The party itself was great. It was so crazy busy. Fun!! Ladies and purses everywhere. When I get back, I'm going to work real hard at taking pictures of what's left and offering them very cheap. So stay tuned!

Well as C'man would say 'only one more dream before Disney' that next time I post should be from Disney. We are taking the lap top and hopefully I'll have time to post. I will be accepting drinks at our room, heck I'd even walk to the bar, anytime b/w 11-3 so feel free to send me some:)

Stroller Recommendations Needed

Those of you who have traveled with kids. What would you recommend of a light weight umbrella stroller? It would be used while @ Disney too.

Couple requirements:

DH and I are both 6'0

Storage underneath

reclining seat.

I truly see why people have like 3 strollers/kid! You almost need a different one for each child for each event/occasion:) My plan is to buy stroller connectors for when we need to push two strollers while the other is doing whatever.

So please if you have any ideas, ask other moms, friends, parents, whatever and please please let me know what they think. I'm hoping to keep it at under $60/stroller.

Thanks! OH and guess what?? I won my first contest!! Check out Faith's blog entry about me winning!! Personally I think she should keep the gift card and buy herself some coffee as she is one busy, but loving it, mommy!! She insisted and it'll be in the mail this week. I really can't wait. I love Mocha's!!!

We're Going On Vacation

To Disney World! That's the one in Florida right?? Let's see, let me back track.
DH has been wanting to go on vacation somewhere for some time. We celebrated 10 years of marital bliss (HAHA) in June and never made it any where. We, no DH, found great airfare for just under $100/person.
Now the fun part continues. Trying to find the best deal for Disney. My friend Emily is a travel agent for AAA so I have contacted her for assistance! She's been GREAT! Feel free to contact her, I'll share her!! BUT now DH is trying to find other 'deals'. I want to just book the dang thing and be done with it.
He's spent countless hours on the Internet, and now phone, trying to finalize everything. So here's where you all come in. How many of you have been there before? Whats your ONE piece of advice? Should we do the 'park hopper'? (reminder, we're taking a 2, 4, an over anxious father, and anxiety driven mother)
It's been years since I've been there. Like I was 7 or 8?? So I remember very little accept stupid things like how my brother cried and cried, exhaustion, and a couple rides, mainly because of the pictures taken.
Anyway tell me what you know.

Reminder, I'm getting ready for a give away and to get an additional 'entry' become a follower!!

Vacation Recap #2

Boy i wonder how many recaps I'll have? EVERYONE is sleeping, C'man, DH and Miss A. The kids need it too. C'man hasn't napped in days and with Bible School these past couple days he is CRABBY!!

OK but this is about vacation. I left off Thursday i believe.

Lincoln Tunnel

Friday was the big day where we went in to NYC for the Broadway show of Spamalot. We left mid afternoon. Laura's friends daughters watched the kids and i think they all had a good time. We had a great time. When growing up we would head in to NYC every summer for 1 or 2 days. I never was to fond of the city but it's better now that I'm older. Still very loud, smelly in some places and lots of people but now that I'm an adult it's not as daunting as when I was younger. We ate at a great restaurant called Carmine's. Shout out to the new friends we made while sitting at the bar. I gave them my blog so say hello if you're reading this. It's a family style Italian restaurant where the portions are HUGE and you share it. It was great. Here are some pics.

It was this evening too that we started talking about tattoos. Maybe it was the one to many $11 drinks I had, but if there had been a tattoo shop right out the door and i knew what i wanted, I'd probably had done it. No regrets either:)

Then we walked to Broadway to catch the show. It was just amazing seeing a show IRL (in real life) The sound effects, the backgrounds, just EVERYTHING was way cool. Of course no pictures were allowed but Drew Lachey was in it and did a great job and then Stephen Collins who was the dad on 'Touched By An Angel' I believe that's the show, was the lead. Great job by all. It was just a great evening. I could use a weekend like that, NYC, Adults only, food, drinks, etc and i really hope someday we can do that. See me in there!?

Oh and we took a cab and i was busy looking for the 'Cash Cab'. Do any of you know that show?? Well we didn't find the Cash Cab, maybe next time. I used to watch that show with the guys i worked with and was hoping we could find it b/c b/w Laura, Mario and Jeff i know without a doubt we'd win some $$. Sorry, I'd had been no help at all! L & M had never even heard of it....have you?

We got home that evening by midnight so that wasn't even bad. But we didn't get to bed till 130! See a pattern here. That's why i say i think we averaged 5 hrs off sleep the entire time we were gone. But is it ever worth it.

On Saturday L & M had a wedding to attend mid afternoon. We spent most of the day just hanging out by the pool. It's so divine. C'man is a swimming machine with his goggles and swimmer floaties and just loved jumping off the board. Once Miss A got IN HER floaty, she loved to just float around the pool.


That evening my brother, his wife and there new baby came to visit. They were already in NJ so they stayed over night by us. I don't have many pics of Baby 'O' and hoping i can scam some off of my bro and Laura. He's ADORABLE! When he cries he sticks his lip out and it's SO funny! I was to busy huggin and lovin him to take pictures AND making sure my kids didn't have to much fun with him. So cute.

OK I'll leave off here and save the next recap for another day. I promise they won't all be this long! Shout out too to my niece Megan. Her and I talked today over facebook. She just came out of a relationship and I'm worried about her. She's down in Florida and trying to not think of the bastard, ass hole, sorry 'guy'. I told her I may have to come down and kick his ars and then get her in to gear:) Sorry for the harsh words but doesn't it make you mad when someone you love and care about gets hurt or is hurting??? She'll pull thru i know she will. I gave her my blog so that will leave her with lots of reading to do. Don't forget Meg's gotta leave comments or better yet, you could start your own blog.

Vacation Recap #1

I think we're finally getting back in to the swing of things. However C'man has decided he's done with naps. Therefore it really limits my time to blog. But he's outside playing now so i have a couple minutes. I may have to do my vacation recaps in stages.


Marley and Dreyfus

OK so from the beginning. These two dogs are how Laura and I met. We breed our Chocolate Lab 'momma mocha' with another lab. I then listed the pups on the Internet and somehow Laura found me. They had lost there beloved dogs years earlier and were ready for another and thought 2 would be the way to go. The every day communication began. They were going to be a surprise for her husband. In the course of 3 + weeks of communication I often wondered why they didn't have kids. Having just completed my first IVF i was yearning for someone to share my journey, sadness, hopelessness, despair, etc with.

I'm really not sure how it came up but she too had been thru IVF and knew EXACTLY what I was going thru. What an answer to prayer! It really turned out to be a small world b/c Laura and Mario live in New Jersey, that was where my mom was born and raised. Then they, like us, loved labs AND the infertility left bruises on their heart just as it was beginning to on ours.

Flash forward the dogs are now 5 years old?? and our friendship continues just as strong as ever. She surprised me by coming out for a baby shower in honor of C'mans arrival. What a surprise that was. Anyone that knows me knows that surprises are very hard to pull off. She stayed the weekend and we were able to bond in person. Then she and my mom, were the first to hear C'mans cries as he entered the world. At 5 1/2 weeks of age C'man and I flew out to there house for a week and then the next summer she came here for a couple days. This trip was the 2nd summer we've been out there.

It's pretty amazing how God brings people in to your life for a reason. I can not express how amazing God's timing was in this friendship. Feeling such loneliness and despair she is just what i needed.

OK so back to the vacation. We flew out of Omaha Wednesday late afternoon. Everything was fine till we laid over in Detroit. We ended up taking off 1 hr behind schedule. I'll spare you the details but just say how relieved i was that unlike another lady we met, we didn't sit out on the runway for FOUR hours!! I'm not kidding, i would have plead insanity if I had to be on a runway that long. Heck i wouldn't have to plead it i would BE IT.

We got in at 1145PM and were home and in bed by 2AM. Late night. Thankfully the kids were just amazing. They slept most of the way from Detroit to Philly and the once in the van they quickly fell asleep again and we were able to put them to bed at Laura's with no problems! Thank you GOD!!!

Thursday we hung out in there beautiful pool. Here we are living the good life. What vacation is all about! Friends, pool and drinks!

Enough for today. It's already taken me hr to do this much and now both kids are up and ready to go. Say a prayer tho if you could, for my dad. He is very sick and in the hospital. He's had diarrhea for a number of days and then high temps. Docs don't know whats wrong. Pray for knowledge for them and peace of mind for Dad. He is very down about having to be in the hospital and still feeling rotten. Poor guy I'm so sad and hope he comes out of this all soon!

We're Home

We made it back to Iowa last night. No delays on the way home this time, however the kids were a little more buckie. We got back to our house shortly after 11pm. I tried to drive home but i could not stay awake in fact i don't even remember driving. DH took over and i fell asleep immediately. Still very exhausted today. I think we averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep/night! I'm not used to that at all. But it's all worth it.


This was us a week ago:






I'd post a picture of me now but it's to scary:) We had a fab time. NYC was great, food, socializing, the beach all just amazing. I really loved the beach. Laura's sister in law rents a house just 6 houses down from the beach. That sure was nice for us to have some where to change, shower, etc. Wouldn't that be divine to rent a beach house for the summer?

We all have great tans and colds:) The kids did amazingly well. C has Bible school this evening. I hope he's not to tired.

I'll download the pictures some day soon but for right now i need to get things cleaned up and put away.

Thanks Laura for the amazing time!!!

Tattoo ideas

I want a tattoo and needing ideas. Those that know me, and don't know me, tell me what you think? What should I get? Where should I get? I am thinking of getting it either on my big toe or shoulder. I would like to be able to 'hide' it if necessary. Keep in mind i'm on the more conservative side of this.

Broadway was AWESOME last night! We ate at a great restaurant, Carmincs. We sat next to a nice guy at the bar, sorry we never caught names although I did give him my business card WITH my blog, and the bar tender. Hi guys if you're checking in! The food and drinks were wonderful. Maybe to wonderful with the drinks.

I just can't say how amazing last night was. It was fabulous. We are so lucky to experience broadway, NYC, Time Square, etc. Having vacationed in the NYC area growing up it looks a lot different at night. What a lot of people and hustle bustle everywhere.

Ok the laptop is getting HOT on my lap. I must get going and continue my search for my tattoo! Please give me ideas!

New Jersey

We have made it and having a great time!! I'm actually sitting in Mario & Laura's beautiful kitchen listening to the kids play, DH is putting silverware away for the last 30 min and two dogs are sitting peacefully by me. Tell just now when C'man dropped something and they jumped 5 ft off the ground.
Getting here was a little interesting. Real quickly Omaha to Detroit was fine accept for the man sitting next me had to use the bathroom 40 min in to the flight and A had just fallen asleep. I was rather cross to say the least.
Then in Detroit L told me that N'west had laid off 4000 people. N'west was what we were flying. Our plane was delayed do to mechanical problems so they had to bring in another. Then one of the 2 wingman needed to back the plane out 'walked'. That was our 3rd strike!
Eventually we got in the air. Our kids were great considering everything. There was a baby on board and older kids that were far worse then ours. I heard the mother tell her 3 kids to shut up! You could feel the tension in the air by everyone.
We got in one hr later then planned. So that wasn't bad. We were here and in bed by 2AM!!
OK this lap top keeps skipping around on me!!!

Yesterday was spent in and out of the pool! They have just a beautiful pool, back yard, and house. Laura cooked a delicious supper of chicken, hamburgers, shrimp and a variety of salads!YUMMY!

Here shortly the 4 of us are going to the outlet malls!! This afternoon by 2 M&L will be home from work and we will be heading in to the city, NYC, for Spamalot!! We can not WAIT!! I hope and pray the kids cooperate for the babysitters b/c they've been a little bit of a handful!!

Gotta run!!

Prepare For Take Off

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we fly out to LAURA and MARIO'S!! We are SO excited. I'm busy packing suitcases and trying to stay with in the generous 50lbs they allow us!! Kidding of course. However, since we purchased 3 tickets that allows us 3 suitcases. My plan is pack 3 large suitcases 1/2 full. But looking at a half empty suitcase only makes me think i can pack more. Oh dear.



4th of July was nothing exciting here. I've been incredibly sick with a kidney infection and very dehydrated. This past week has been hell. I'm fully on the mend and can now fully agree how important drinking water is. How much better i felt after drinking and drinking! Amazing! We, well the kids didn't, see any fireworks this year. That is just to late for my little ones to stay up to. Especially with us leaving on vacation. I enjoyed some from the bathroom window upstairs and fell asleep to the banging. Yes living way out in the country we still can hear the booms. The dogs can too thank you very much!!



Here's some pics i attempted to take on Sunday before church. You can judge for yourselves how well it went. Typical
Miss A having a fit and then remembering she doesn't like grass.
ok so a little better. Not the height of the corn. This lines our backyard. I love it when it's this high. Feels so private back here.
Of course C'man can ham it up so good for the camera. Mr Photo Man
Now i REALLY am mad and this dam grass. GET ME OUTTA HERE!
How about daddy. I wish we all could have our picture taken but i haven't taught the dogs how to do that yet. BFF-E when you come that's your mission:)

When C'man sees a plane in the sky he says 'someday', his 'someday' is coming tomorrow buddy!

Happy 4th

I can't believe it's the 4th of July already!! The summer is 1/2 over!! Celebrate our independence today and be thankful you have it!! So many don't and pray for those that are fighting for it!!!



We leave Wednesday for NJ so lots of things going on in preparation!! I'll leave you with some pics of my favorite little life guard in training!!!

Little of This, Lot of That....

A post about a little bit of everything. First: The weather. We survived. No tornado's and really not even any rain. Which is fine b/c we've had so much rain a break is nice. But the wind last night was horrible. It was like a hurricane, or what they look like on TV. Branches everywhere. I should have taken a picture of our yard, but i cleaned them all up already. While taking a shower the electricity kept going off. I got out to look outside to see if a tornado was coming. I was a little scared to look out! Still very windy today with sustained gusts of 30+mph. Last night it was 60-70mph sustained!

Then the van. Here are some pictures:
middle seats. We have the optional 3rd seat up in the middle!

The Navi system which if anyone has a new CD for the updated version, could I borrow it? is that even possible?

Great storage areas including two glove compartments AND a lazy susan like storage under the seats!
When not using the Navi system the screen is the control for the radio. Also it has a camera so that when you're backing up it shows you what's behind you!

As luck would have it after we make a big purchase crap happens. I got a letter in the mail for the loan i had from when i had my lasik eye surgery done. It was informing me that my 1 year of 0% interest was up the end of this month. Therefore I had till then to pay the entire amount ($996.97) back by then OR I'd be charged interest going back the entire year. AND the interest rate, 19.99%. Can we say holy ****. I was not happy at all and found my paperwork and sure enough it said 12 months ONLY interest free. Now i remember that I was going to pay $100/month. I'd forgotten and just paid the whatever amt was on my bill. SO DH will have to pay it off for me b/c i don't have the much money.

We also purchased our airfare for NJ! Here we come Laura!!!!! I'm very happy with the price and flight times. We will be using our 'Bush Money' for the trip! Hurry up and come!!

We took two of the 3 kittens to new homes. I wasn't very happy b/c DH said we had to keep the long haired white one. That meant that the orange one had to go. The girl would have taken on three and I actually was thinking that sounded like a great idea. DH didn't. Grrrrr C'man keeps asking 'where's my orange Kittie?' I just tell him to go ask his father!

Garage saling tomorrow with BFF-S!! It's her b-day! I took her for a massage, out to eat and dessert last night. Tomorrow she wants to go garage saling! We shall do that! BFF-E, BFF-LA if you lived closer see what kind of treatment you'd get on your b-day:) Speaking of BFF-E can you tell us if you're OK? I heard tornado's were around you last Thursday. I sent you a text wondering if you were OK.

Gotta run little man is having a fit!

Travel HELP

Quick update that Jason Schultz DID WIN last night!! Christopher Reed won US Senate. I poll watched which meant as the precincts closed and called in there results I then called the Schultz campaign and report to them. It was real easy and I enjoyed it. Got home @ 1030pm so that wasn't to bad either.

OK i NEED your help! I'm trying to make trip plans to fly out to see Laura and I'm having a heck of a time. I'm cross that if I want to fly out of Omaha for the cheaper rates, I have to leave at like 5AM that simply is NOT possible. I don't care if DH thinks it is, NO WAY! It seems to fly to Philly there is only leave at the butt crack of dawn, earlier actually, or get in at like midnight. Neither are an option.

Can you tell me what you like to use when making travel plans? I've used Travelocity in the past and I've checked out others. But I'm wondering what you use. Maybe I'm missing a real good one. I'd really appreciate it!

Oh and I'm going to get my 'new' van today!! It's an '05 Honda Odyssey and the thing is loaded! GPS, DVD, CD, Leather, etc I'll take pictures.