The newest member of our family...

THE BIG GREEN EGG

DH found the BGE (as its affectionately called amongst EGGHEAD circles) on craigslist for $50..that's right folks, $50. We needed to buy some replacements parts, but it all ended up being around 1/4 of the price for a new one! woohoo! We have eaten off the EGG for a week straight. Its a fun thing to try. We've done ribs 2x, salmon, pizza (frozen) and we are experimenting with veggies and maybe even desesert?

The downside, is that DH likes to find places where they are selling the accessories that go with the EGG and then he comes out with more than 1. He drove 1/2 hour away the other day to get a platesetter (it helps you do indirect cooking) and he came out with too much stuff! :) I think he can't go into these stores unsupervised. Its hard to find local retails that sell cooking tools for the EGG so sometimes you have to drive a ways to get it. I love it, b/c it gets him more involved in the cooking and he really likes it. DH hasn't always been the best at grilling so we are trying to perfect his skills!

Spring Break @ WDW

Well, here we are again!

We arrived late late early morning on Monday. I was on the way home from a girls weekend away and DH picked me up on the highway and away we went!

The boys have been having a great time. We first went to Lakeland and hit a spring training game at Joker Marchant Field, home of the Tigers. The boys really enjoyed it, and the weather was perfect! This was something that DH really wanted to do. The drive wasn't bad, about 40 minutes each way.

After the ball game we hit DHS and did some rides and shows. We even waited in line for about 45 minutes to ride the awesome Toy Story Mania. The sign said 120 minutes, but from the way the line looked, we knew it wasn't going to be that long! Plus, this is high season, and an hour is about the maximum I'll wait for any ride. BONUS - I beat Jeff! :)

Day 2, we woke up early and hit Animal Kingdom. This is one park where it is a MUST that we get there before it opens. We make a mad dash for the safari and it has never disappointed. Today was awesome! We saw giraffe running and some antelope (i'm sure this was not their official title, but I can't remember what they are called)

We did something at Animal Kingdom we have never done before. There are these kids stations all around the park and at each one, you learn something new about the animals and then the kids get a stamp on their passport. Something similar to what they do at EPCOT. The boys had a great time running around doing all the fun activities.

Tonight we went over to the Boardwalk. This is a big fave of the kids. They love to watch the "silly men". There are various men around the Boardwalk that do side shows. The atmosphere is great, the food is good and the boys enjoy the street shows. Tonight, Anderson even got picked as a volunteer for a magic show. He couldn't stop laughing!

Tomorrow, we are hitting Anderson's favorite park - Epcot!

Snowstorm

This is what is great about living in the south...we get a few inches and everything shuts down. I haven't left the house in 2 days! Its awesome!

Parker is like his mother...loves the snow and cold for 10 minutes. Anderson could stay outside for hours and that he did.

Jeff took Anderson out to the mountains yesterday for a ski trip. He took lessons for the first time and thoroughly loved it! They went with another Father and Son duo. I am sure that helped a lot having a buddy in the class with him. I think he is ready to go again.

Having Anderson home for day 2 of the snow was good for Parker. He had someone to ride the sled with him and play with. He wanted nothing to do with sled yesterday when big brother wasn't here. I even tried to get in it with him and there was none of that.

Merry Christmas!

I really wasn't sure how I would like being at Walt Disney World for Christmas. Turned out, I loved it!!! It was so easy, with nothing to do but go to Magic Kingdom. We had planned to wake up at 6:30am and head out the door. But on Christmas Eve, that planned changed. There was 70% chance of rain all morning.

Anderson woke up at 6am, came out to see his presents from Santa and played by himself for almost an hour. Around 7am the rest of us woke up and we had a great time opening presents and enjoying the time being a family. Around 10am, the rain let up, so we decided to make a dash for the park. We got there around 11am and the park wasn't full. We had heard a lot about how they have to shut down the park by 10am b/c it is at capacity (65k people!).

The rain helped us out a lot. We wanted to see the Christmas parade.

It started at 12nn so we went and staked out our spot and got an awesome spot in Frontierland. This is the parade they normally show only to people attending the "Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party". However, the parties are over on the 22nd (or so) and then they start doing the Parade and Fireworks for everyone at Magic Kingdom.

Next, we tortured the kids by bringing them to Haunted Mansion. This is one of my faves! The boys were terrified, and luckily I have ridden this ride about 100 times so I knew when the scary parts were. They were not happy to say the least.

We tootled around for a little bit, and then rain came! It was coming down in sheets. We took

cover in Pecos Bill's and waited for it to let up. The boys were not happy...

We left Magic Kingdom and immediately, all 3 of us fell asleep. Not Jeff as he was driving. Apparently, he drove around for about an hour to let us sleep (mainly Parks). We made it to Boma, Animal Kingdom Lodge, for our Christmas Dinner reservations. We love this restaurant. Its great food and service. We try to eat here everytime we come to Disney.

To finish off our Christmas Day of 2009, we headed over to Hollywood Studios. They have an AWESOME display of Christmas lights. A family donated their personal collection of Christmas lights to Disney in 1995. You can read about it here. There is a coordination of the lights with music and fake snow. The boys love it, and it was great thing to finish the day with.

As we were leaving, the "American Idol Experience" finale show had started. They were airing it on the big screen right outside the theatre. This is really cool, all throughout the day, there are auditions and from each audition show they take the finalist and they return for the finale show. Then the audience votes for the winner and that winner gets a "golden ticket". It gives them the right to show up to any audition for American Idol and they get through the "first round". We have seen the show 2x before, and the boys love it. So we stuck around outside and watched it.

What a great Christmas Day!

Disney Day 2 and 3 and Christmas Eve!

As I update, DH is out trying to find a tree...I hope he is successful...

Day 2 - Epcot & Magic Kingdom

We headed over to Epcot around 9am. DH and Anderson zipped over to do Test Track and Mission Space - Anderson's all time favorite. While Parker and I headed for Character Spot.

On our trip last October, we did this 5x! oh yes! Thankfully, the Character Spot had just opened about 15 minutes and we only had about a 20minute wait. Awesome! Parker loves his characters and Anderson is really past them. Never was into them, and caught on pretty quick that they are just grown ups in costumes. Parks thinks they are real and are quite concerned when ever they go "for a snack". Since Parker is too short to ride Test Track and Mission Space, this eats up a good amount of time for us.

We were able to knock out Character Spot and Spaceship Earth before it was time to meet up with DH and Anderson.

One of the boys' favorite thing to do is go to "Club Cool". They have Cokes from around the world you sample. Since drinking soda is treat, they love this!

We decided to brave "Finding Nemo" (30min wait!) and hung around

there for a while before heading back to our hotel for a nap. Relax!

We headed over to eat dinner at a restaurant nearby. Now normally this wouldn't be too exciting, but this place did it rig

ht. They had a small outdoor patio seating area, but right next to it, was an enclosed playground! oh yes, DH and I were able to have a quiet dinner for ourselves while the boys ran crazy. They were the only ones in it, so that was a bonus!

Next we headed off to Magic Kingdom. When we walked in, it was so wonderful. The magic

took over. The place was gorgeous and it felt like Christmas. We arrived around 7pm and started to stake out our spot for the SpectroMagic parade. Yes, we are one of THOSE PEOPLE. We wait on our curb all arrogant and don't EVEN THINK ABOUT TRYING TO TAKE UP ANY OF OUR REAL ESTATE! Won't name names, but there have been ugly exchanges more than once. People trying to butt in our space at the last minute - I THINK NOT! So DH or I take turns sitting in o

ur area and then taking the boys on a ride. They really wanted to do the Indy speedway, it was a 40minute wait and then about 20min to do it 2x. The nice people let us just do another lap switching drivers - the boys take turns.

We love the SpectroMagic parade. Its so fun, and Parker has really gotten into the parades. Like I said, he really thinks the characters are REAL! Its cute. We had planned to stick around to watch the fireworks show, b/c ITS AWESOME! But the boys were melting down, and we didn't want to risk some ugliness as the masses were exiting.

Day 3 - DISNEY HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS & EPCOT

We spent the morning at Hollywood Studios. Again, DH took Anderson to ride Star Tours(star wars) while Parker and I did the Playhouse Disney show and character greet. I love meeting the characters, so this is not a problem for me! The lines aren't too bad. Not any worse then when were there this past fall.

When we met up, Parker was tired, he didn't want to do anything! So Jeff took him in the car, and he was asleep before they pulled out of

the lot. Anderson and I took the ferry over to Epcot. A nice leisurely ride.

We had a dinner package for the Candlelight Processional. I was really looking forward to this. We first ate dinner at San Angel, the Mexico restaurant, and then headed over to theatre in America. Each year, starting after Thanksgiving, they have different celebrities read the Christmas story (from the Bible) and there is an orchestra, choir and different high school choirs that all get together. IT WAS AWESOME! I was telling DH that I wished we lived closer so that I could come and listen to it each weekend. They have about a dozen or so celebrities that come and read it through the time. Our reader was Edward James Olmos. This was his 9th consecutive year. He was fantastic. It was amazing. We sat in the second row, and Anderson seemed to really enjoy it, Parker - not so much. But they both did great.

One thing that is really neat at Epcot around the holidays, they have storytellers at each country telling how that country celebrates the holidays. We didn't get to see many, but one we did catch was Mexico and it was really neat. They spoke about how they celebrate "Three Kings Day" in honor of the 3 Wise Man.

We left after the show, and went to get situated in our new hotel/condo/timeshare. No fireplace or chimney, so here is our makeshift stocking hangers.

The boys got new Mickey jammies (they are Christmas ones!)...

We got Santa a cookie from the Bakery at Disney, these cookies ARE AWESOME! Santa is really going to enjoy them...

Merry Christmas to all! And remember that Jesus is the true reason for the Season!

Christmas at Disney - Day 1

We purchased the annual pass when we were in Disney this past October. So I wasn't all that worried about being here during the holidays. A few hours here and there would be okay.

We pulled in late last night, checked into a hotel around 12:30am. This was after trying to decide which one to go to. There were plenty of space available, but trying to make the decision. Thank goodness for the iphone! We settled in and the boys were quickly put to bed.

We had a slow start, on purpose, this morning but arrived to Animal Kingdom around 11:30 or so. First stop - "Finding Nemo, the musical". The boys love this show, and its my all time favorite. Last trip, I bought the soundtrack so the boys and I have been singing to it a lot lately. Shockingly, they didn't sing along to any of the songs.

Next, Parker wanted to the see characters. So we went to Camp Minnie Mickey and waited. The lines weren't bad, they weren't worse then what we had in October. Anderson was being grouchy about having to see the characters, so he and DH left to walk around and see the sights. Parker and I saw, Mickey, Goofy (his fave), and Donald. We always skip Minnie, she's a girl. Last trip, it took us a week for Parker to warm up to the characters, this time, Mickey got a big ole hug! Not quite comfortable doing it himself, but still no tears or crying! BONUS!

We spent the rest of our time doing the safari and watching the parade. We are parade stalkers. We like to stake out a spot for at least 30minutes! Better not try and creep in...

Boys did really well for no nap. Parks was out cold by 7:30pm...aw sweet peace.

Tomorrow we are going to brave Epcot (Anderson's all time favorite park!) and Magic Kingdom.

NO SNOW PLEASE SANTA!

TOO MUCH ON MY PLATE...

Not just food, I mean because that has been my problem too lately. I had a stomach ache today and I think its b/c my pants were too tight.

Let me first tell you all what is on my plate for the next 48 hours...

I am organizing our Sunday School Christmas Party for about 60 adults and 70 kids or so.. I should be trying to figure out my centerpieces but instead I'm in bed b/c I'm exhausted! :) This is happening tomorrow night.

Then on Saturday, I'm hosting a Christmas Party at my house that will have 75 bodies. WHAT AM I THINKING! Trying to organize my list. I have some sitters coming to watch over the 40 or so kids that will be tearing up my house. WHAT AM I THINKING

And NOW THEY ARE FORECASTING FOR SNOW! PLEASE! this cannot be happening to me...

OH and did I mention I am leaving for Disney on Sunday. We weren't supposed to leave til Tuesday or Wednesday, and now Jeff says let's leave Sunday or Monday morning...

I think I need to go to bed....

Cookie Day

It's cookie making day here at our house! I had a big helper, as you see! It took twice as long, but it didn't matter. He really enjoyed himself. We make cookies to give out to teachers, and friends. I tried out two new recipes this year, and I really liked one. Its called Chunky Chocolate Gobs. They have Mounds and Oreo in them! sooooo good!

I Miss Laurel

Who is Laurel? Read on...

We are back from a very long vacation. We spent 2 weeks at Disney World and then a week on a Disney Cruise in the Caribbean.

We took advantage of the Disney's free dining they were offering, so we had a lot of food that we didn't have to pay extra for! We did character dining that the boys loved and Epcot was having its annual Food and Wine Festival. We were able to use snack credits for the food and it was divine. And do I even need to mention the massive amount of food I consumed on the cruise? More about the cruise later....

WALT DISNEY WORLD

During the course of 2 weeks that we were there, we made 6 trips to the urgen

t care. Yep, all four of us were on antibiotics at some point or another. Parker had an allergic reaction to his antibiotic or some form of allergic reaction, where he broke out in a rash all over his body! Anderson had some bug where he had a high fever for only 24 hours. Which we were very thankful for, since this happened 4 days away from our cruise. We were so fearful it was the flu!!!!

Anderson came to LOVE Mission Space ride at Epcot. He loves Epcot to begin with and I spent 5 full days at Epcot! I am a big fan of Epcot, but seriously, 5 full days! I rode mission space and test track a lot during that time.

Jeff was gone on a business trip for 4 days and of course it was when Anderson was sick. That day I spent 5 hours at the urgent care...some urgent... I thought if I put a mask on him it would help us jump to the front of the line, but NOPE! I am thankful for our good friends, T&H. They took Parker to Magic Kingdom ALL day with them. He had a great time. We were at Disney with 4 other families that we are good friends with. In fact, they all went with us on the cruise as well.

It took Parker a full week to get comfortable with the characters. he was all about them after

that first week. Epcot has an attraction called "Character Spot"

where you stand in line, for about 30-40 minutes, and you see about 5 characters. I did that 4x! It was something that Parker and I would do, when Anderson would ride his rides that Parker wasn't tall enough for. He loved to give them hugs and high fives!

Not sure if I'm ready to do a 2 week trip to Disney again anytime soon..my kids were on empty by the time the cruise came around. They each took a nap every day, but I think it still wore them out!

DISNEY CRUISE LINE

I am a huge fan of the Disney Cruise Line. I have sailed on 2 other cruise lines, and with kids, this is the best. They have an awesome child care facility that my kids loved. The moment they would wake up they would ask "can we go to Oceanner's Club?

We went on the cruise with 12 people total - 8 adults, 4

kids...WHAT A BLAST!

So who is Laurel? My stateroom attendant, that picked up the towels, made my bed, folded the clothes, hung up the

wet clothes, did the turn down service and most importantly, did the towel animals. I asked him if he would move in with me. I did tell him that I will miss him the most.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate as much but it didn't stop us from having a

great time. It rained almost every day, but hey - we were on the floating version of Disney! always something to do.

One of our stops was Grand Cayman and it was raining that day. We left all the kids in the club and headed off the boat to walk around and do some shopping. We knew they would of hated it.

In Cozumel, we had booked us a day at a private beach where it was all you could eat and drink. The kids loved the pool (very cold) and they loved to play in the sand. It was quiet and cozy. They only allow around 50 people to come on the beach every day. And it did rain

on us....

Castaway Cay is Disney's private island in the Bahamas and it is always our favorite stop. We got off first thing in the morning and went the farthest part of the beach. It wasn't as crowded and we had the end of the beach to ourselves for a while. It poured down rain for about 15 minutes but then the sun came out. What a great way to end our vacation! :)

There was so much food on the boat, that I'm afraid to know how many calories I inhaled every day.

We can't wait to go back on another cruise. In fact, we rebooked for October 2011. Yep, 2 years away, but you get a discount and you can always cancel with no penalty.

This is too good to be true

As many of you know, we purchased our home almost year ago, and it was a "short sale" it was days from being on the auction block. The house had been empty for 1.5 years, and when we purchased it, the former owner still had possessions. Lets just say that when we closed, they were still in the attic. When they arranged for movers to get their stuff, it took 1.5 moving trucks to haul out the stuff! oh yes...

Today...it got better We discovered termites a few months ago. Today at our house was Termite Termination day. This nice man from the Termite company came at 8am and was at house til about 5pm, exterminating the termites. When he went under the screen porch to take care of the termites there, he found something quite interesting behind the lattice around the screen porch. He found BOXES AND BOXES AND BOXES of women’s clothes! Oh yes ladies, women’t clothes. He said, there were termites in there and he wouldn’t be surprised if there are dead animals inside these boxes. SERIOUSLY! SERIOUSLY!???!!!!???!!!!

Any volunteers to take away the boxes? Or does anyone need new clothes? J