Just for a bit though. I started working on my Easter post in April and for the last month I've been putting it off! Procrastination at its finest. Things have been busy as usual around here and I'm just now starting to get into a routine now that racing has started and the kids have activities 3 nights a week as well. (Thursday night is my only "free" night of the week...I cherish it so much!)
I have lots to write about and lots to say/vent! All in good time! Maybe this week, maybe next week, but I hope soon.
This week is busy with cleaning the house top to bottom, cleaning the hauler top to bottom (yet again...thanks ma nature for the rain and MUD Saturday night!) and many outside chores that have been accumulating. The joys of being an adult.
Hoping the weather warms up and we see some warm sunshine soon! Have a wonderful day!
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Spring has SpRuNg!
Spring is here and so is the crazy, unpredictable weather! Wow was it windy today, the sun was nice though!
Spring does seem to renew a person, it gets everyone excited for summer, nice/warm weather, sunshine, no school, horse shows, racing, pontoon rides, bonfires, the list could go on and on. Needless to say I'm ready for the season change!
Nothing too new around here:
Kevin is ridiculously busy with work, which is great, but we miss him! Racing is right around the corner and for the most part he's ready. He's managed his schedule pretty well, he's been able to come home and have dinner with us every night and he's made it to almost every swim lesson the kids have had. A little bit of time with him is better then none. This weekend his car is on display at the Cedar Mall for the RLS car show. Many of the cars he stickered are on display there now through Saturday...its a nice way to kick off the season.
Blake and Brooke finished up their March swim lessons last week. Blake is in level 2 and has done so well! He used to hate going under water, he was so scared to do it, now it doesn't even phase him! (He was never bothered at water parks if he went under...!) He's actually learning to swim, he said he's doggy paddling, either way he's swimming and I'm proud of him! Brooke is in level 1, which is intro to water, she gets to jump into the water (her teacher catches her in the water), they blow bubbles and practice floating and kicking. She is fearless tho and loves to go under water, like the big kids. Nothing phases her! They both love free time at the end of the lessons the best. They are both signed up for lessons this month as well. Blake and Brooklyn are both into wrestling at the moment. Blake watches WWE every Monday night and plays with his wrestlers often, his favorite wrestler is Rey Mysterio. Brooke likes watching the Divas and has 2 girl wrestler action figures (Natlia and A.J.). A few weeks ago Blake and Kevin went to the cities to watch Road to Wrestle Mania and they had a blast! Blake LOVED it, his excitement telling me about it was adorable, he reenacts what he saw with his wrestlers. Brooklyn loves playing with anything that's a Barbie or dollhouse people or her wrestlers, I love listening to her and the different scenario's she acts out with them, she's hilarious! I need to get a video of her playing. :-)
Nothing real new with me, I'm almost done spring cleaning, I have one section in my kitchen left to go. My next projects to tackle are putting Disney vacation pictures into albums and going through and organizing my address book/Christmas card list. Currently I'm redoing our bedroom and the kids bathroom, I have the paint colors picked out, I just need to call the painters and arrange a time for them to come out. I'm ready for a change. Both Kevin and I HATE painting, its such a time consuming task, I don't have the patience for it. However I might paint the basement/daycare myself, mainly because I don't want to pay someone to do it, when chances are the paint won't be dry and the kids will have done something to the walls. We'll see. I just started the book American Sniper, we saw the movie, which was one of the most intense movies I have ever seen. I'm excited to read it, yet a little apprehensive too. I usually read romance books, autobiography's on people who interest me (generally celebs) and anything that is comedic. I've also been "pinning" a lot lately. Mostly recipes, things for daycare, my kids or home decor. I love going on pinterest, but it really sucks me in, before I know it an hour has gone by. Its almost a guilty pleasure. Another guilty pleasure of late...Netflix! Oh how I love it. I started watching Parenthood, why on earth did I not watch this show when it was on TV? I love it, its so good. I also started watching Orange is the New Black, and I love that one as well, some of the stuff is shocking...intense and funny!
We're looking forward to the weekend...I'm getting my hair done (6 weeks go by too fast, damn roots!), possibly going to a lambing farm, coloring Easter Eggs and going to Duluth for Easter and to a water park! We have our fingers crossed that Kevin can come with us or at least go to the water park, he usually has to work on Easter :-(.
Happy Easter!
Spring does seem to renew a person, it gets everyone excited for summer, nice/warm weather, sunshine, no school, horse shows, racing, pontoon rides, bonfires, the list could go on and on. Needless to say I'm ready for the season change!
Nothing too new around here:
Kevin is ridiculously busy with work, which is great, but we miss him! Racing is right around the corner and for the most part he's ready. He's managed his schedule pretty well, he's been able to come home and have dinner with us every night and he's made it to almost every swim lesson the kids have had. A little bit of time with him is better then none. This weekend his car is on display at the Cedar Mall for the RLS car show. Many of the cars he stickered are on display there now through Saturday...its a nice way to kick off the season.
Blake and Brooke finished up their March swim lessons last week. Blake is in level 2 and has done so well! He used to hate going under water, he was so scared to do it, now it doesn't even phase him! (He was never bothered at water parks if he went under...!) He's actually learning to swim, he said he's doggy paddling, either way he's swimming and I'm proud of him! Brooke is in level 1, which is intro to water, she gets to jump into the water (her teacher catches her in the water), they blow bubbles and practice floating and kicking. She is fearless tho and loves to go under water, like the big kids. Nothing phases her! They both love free time at the end of the lessons the best. They are both signed up for lessons this month as well. Blake and Brooklyn are both into wrestling at the moment. Blake watches WWE every Monday night and plays with his wrestlers often, his favorite wrestler is Rey Mysterio. Brooke likes watching the Divas and has 2 girl wrestler action figures (Natlia and A.J.). A few weeks ago Blake and Kevin went to the cities to watch Road to Wrestle Mania and they had a blast! Blake LOVED it, his excitement telling me about it was adorable, he reenacts what he saw with his wrestlers. Brooklyn loves playing with anything that's a Barbie or dollhouse people or her wrestlers, I love listening to her and the different scenario's she acts out with them, she's hilarious! I need to get a video of her playing. :-)
 |
| Ready to play outside...swords and all! |
 |
| My sweet girl! Baking cookies with mom! |
 |
| My sweet boy! |
 |
| Super Blake! |
 |
| I love them! |
 |
| Our Super Girl! |
 |
| Blake playing pirates and batman! |
 |
| Brooklyn after dance class! |
Nothing real new with me, I'm almost done spring cleaning, I have one section in my kitchen left to go. My next projects to tackle are putting Disney vacation pictures into albums and going through and organizing my address book/Christmas card list. Currently I'm redoing our bedroom and the kids bathroom, I have the paint colors picked out, I just need to call the painters and arrange a time for them to come out. I'm ready for a change. Both Kevin and I HATE painting, its such a time consuming task, I don't have the patience for it. However I might paint the basement/daycare myself, mainly because I don't want to pay someone to do it, when chances are the paint won't be dry and the kids will have done something to the walls. We'll see. I just started the book American Sniper, we saw the movie, which was one of the most intense movies I have ever seen. I'm excited to read it, yet a little apprehensive too. I usually read romance books, autobiography's on people who interest me (generally celebs) and anything that is comedic. I've also been "pinning" a lot lately. Mostly recipes, things for daycare, my kids or home decor. I love going on pinterest, but it really sucks me in, before I know it an hour has gone by. Its almost a guilty pleasure. Another guilty pleasure of late...Netflix! Oh how I love it. I started watching Parenthood, why on earth did I not watch this show when it was on TV? I love it, its so good. I also started watching Orange is the New Black, and I love that one as well, some of the stuff is shocking...intense and funny!
 |
| Kids and I on my 29th Birthday! |
Happy Easter!
Monday, March 23, 2015
Shopping Addiction?
I love to shop and I think I have an addiction. There I said it. I admitted it. What a relief to have that off my chest! I love shopping online, I love shopping at the mall or other retail stores. It doesn't matter where or when I just love to shop. I shop for everything and anything...therein lies the problem!
Working from home tends to make online shopping too easy. I'll be putting laundry away...and start thinking about the upcoming season and who needs what. I'll then get my trusty little notebook and compile a list of what we all will be needing and how many of each. From there I will will look through my coupons (mainly from the Children's Place, Buckle, Kohls and Scheels b/c I have their store credit cards!). Then its game on! I fire up the computer and start shopping. The biggest problem with online shopping is you can't see how much your buying, the total at the end usually makes me gasp. I try to justify the amount, telling myself, the kids have grown and last years stuff is too small/worn out, its all stuff we need, I have a coupon...look how much I have saved etc.
Working from also makes me want to get out of the house after a long day and what else is there to do but shop? Sometimes I take a night to myself and browse through store to store and aimlessly buy things because I like it. Often times once I get the item(s) home, I return it as it looked great in the store, but at home its not the same.
If we have a special event coming up or a holiday or vacation I love to get new outfits for that as well. It just makes those times that much more special.
This addiction does not extend to grocery shopping. There is NOTHING I can say or do that makes grocery shopping exciting. I have to grocery shop once a week. In the beginning of the month I do a big grocery shop for daycare (dry goods, canned goods, meat, supplies etc.), I do the same for our household as well, usually towards the middle of the month. Then once a week (Thursdays) I plan my trip to town, I buy the weekly produce, dairy and anything that we are running out of. This is usually when I sneak in my shopping...its like a reward!
I also like to change things up throughout my house, I generally like the decor in my house, however there are times when I look around and think, what could I do here? What would look better there? How can I make better use of this area? Or I will go on to Pinterest and find some great ideas that I just "have to have" or "have to do". There comes in the internet shopping. (Currently I'm redoing the kids bathroom and our bedroom.)
I need to ask myself the following questions when shopping:
And as much as I like to shop and spend, I can save pretty darn well...I just need to do that MORE often! Which is the point of this post...I want to hold myself accountable and SAVE more! Wish me luck!
**Quick update...Sunday night Kevin and I went to town and had some time to burn so we stopped at Kohls to browse and wander a bit...I found a cute summer dress for myself and new throw pillows for our couches...I just had to have them of course, so far I have failed with trying to save money as it seems to burn a hole in my pocket. So with any addiction, I will take it one day at a time!
Working from home tends to make online shopping too easy. I'll be putting laundry away...and start thinking about the upcoming season and who needs what. I'll then get my trusty little notebook and compile a list of what we all will be needing and how many of each. From there I will will look through my coupons (mainly from the Children's Place, Buckle, Kohls and Scheels b/c I have their store credit cards!). Then its game on! I fire up the computer and start shopping. The biggest problem with online shopping is you can't see how much your buying, the total at the end usually makes me gasp. I try to justify the amount, telling myself, the kids have grown and last years stuff is too small/worn out, its all stuff we need, I have a coupon...look how much I have saved etc.
Working from also makes me want to get out of the house after a long day and what else is there to do but shop? Sometimes I take a night to myself and browse through store to store and aimlessly buy things because I like it. Often times once I get the item(s) home, I return it as it looked great in the store, but at home its not the same.
If we have a special event coming up or a holiday or vacation I love to get new outfits for that as well. It just makes those times that much more special.
This addiction does not extend to grocery shopping. There is NOTHING I can say or do that makes grocery shopping exciting. I have to grocery shop once a week. In the beginning of the month I do a big grocery shop for daycare (dry goods, canned goods, meat, supplies etc.), I do the same for our household as well, usually towards the middle of the month. Then once a week (Thursdays) I plan my trip to town, I buy the weekly produce, dairy and anything that we are running out of. This is usually when I sneak in my shopping...its like a reward!
I also like to change things up throughout my house, I generally like the decor in my house, however there are times when I look around and think, what could I do here? What would look better there? How can I make better use of this area? Or I will go on to Pinterest and find some great ideas that I just "have to have" or "have to do". There comes in the internet shopping. (Currently I'm redoing the kids bathroom and our bedroom.)
I need to ask myself the following questions when shopping:
- Do I need it?
- Will I use it?
- Do I love it?
- Is it something that can be used in more than on way?
- Am I just buying this to buy something?
And as much as I like to shop and spend, I can save pretty darn well...I just need to do that MORE often! Which is the point of this post...I want to hold myself accountable and SAVE more! Wish me luck!
**Quick update...Sunday night Kevin and I went to town and had some time to burn so we stopped at Kohls to browse and wander a bit...I found a cute summer dress for myself and new throw pillows for our couches...I just had to have them of course, so far I have failed with trying to save money as it seems to burn a hole in my pocket. So with any addiction, I will take it one day at a time!
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Time Management
Time....something I never seem to have enough of and the majority of it is spent working. I always have so much to do it seems, from my kids, work, our house, our animals, racing, "us" time, to friends and "me" time.
So where does my time go? I'm always rushing it seems no matter how prepared I am. I'm constantly making lists: to do lists in my daily planner to grocery lists or what I need to pack lists etc. My goal is to have everything on my to do list during the work week done before daycare lunch (noon). So I pile on my to do list and all of my work resposibilities such as, caring for each child, diaper changes/potty breaks, snacks and meals, arts/crafts, circle time and play time. My mornings are non-stop. Once I get through lunch time and get the kids down for nap, I'm exhausted and just want to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet for a bit. I always have good intentions of relaxing for a bit then going to workout or to get another chore done, but to be honest once I sit down to relax, the last thing I want to do is get up! Is that wasting time? Or is it good for my brain to just shut down and rest?
My evening begins once the last daycare child leaves, then it seems to be a rush to tidy up and prepare dinner and await Kevin getting home. Dinner is nice and relaxing catching up with my husband and kids on their days. Once dinner is done its a race to clean up, get homework done, bathe each kid, play for a bit and then its time for the kids bedtime routine. This is on a night when neither kid has an activity to be at such as soccer, dance or swimming. The kids are usually in bed by 8:30. Once the kids are in bed, I finish laundry (is anyone really ever done doing laundry?), sometimes I workout or I curl up and watch my favorite shows.
In the nicer months, I try to get out to the barn a few times a week, making time for that is a struggle as well, there is so much to do out there from cleaning the barn to cleaning and caring for the horses. Sometimes by the time I get all the barn chores done, its dark and there's no time to ride. Then there is racing, which takes up the majority of our weekends, which is fine as we love it and its something we all enjoy as a family, but 3 nights, every weekend makes it hard to do other activities on our days off.
I think one of my biggest challenges is myself. I'm constantly adding things to my to do list, and it just piles on. I work from home, and I'll look around my house and notice little things that need to be done. Things that could probably wait, but it will bug me if I don't get to it. I always think if I just hurry up and get things done, then I'll have more time with the kids to play or go do something fun. Another fault of mine is, I expect my house to be spotless and tidy, I expect to be on top of my kids needs and prepared for anything they may have going on. I expect this out of myself because I am home all day, yes I still may be working but I can't justify in mind not having these things done.
What about Kevin helping out? Kevin does the dishes every night after dinner, and we take turns giving the kids baths. He does all of the outside/yard chores. If he's home he will help me fold laundry or if I ask him to do something, he's always happy to help out. Many nights he will tell me to go relax and take a bath and he'll take care of whatever needs to be done. I never expect him to do the household chores, call me old fashion but I feel like that is my job. Kevin works hard and often times has to work 16-18 hour days and on the weekends, so when he gets home I want him to be able to relax and enjoy his time with us and not have to put in time here.
I'm curious how other women manage there time. How do some work outside the home and still manage to care for their children, keep a clean house and prepare dinner? How do other moms who work from home schedule their time to do all of the above? What could I be doing differently that would make my days go smoother without me being exhausted, yet still getting my chores done? Or do I put to much importance on having a clean, organized house and having everything "done"?
I'm off to sweep and vacuum! (I just can't Let It Go!)
Have a safe and Happy St. Patricks Day!
So where does my time go? I'm always rushing it seems no matter how prepared I am. I'm constantly making lists: to do lists in my daily planner to grocery lists or what I need to pack lists etc. My goal is to have everything on my to do list during the work week done before daycare lunch (noon). So I pile on my to do list and all of my work resposibilities such as, caring for each child, diaper changes/potty breaks, snacks and meals, arts/crafts, circle time and play time. My mornings are non-stop. Once I get through lunch time and get the kids down for nap, I'm exhausted and just want to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet for a bit. I always have good intentions of relaxing for a bit then going to workout or to get another chore done, but to be honest once I sit down to relax, the last thing I want to do is get up! Is that wasting time? Or is it good for my brain to just shut down and rest?
My evening begins once the last daycare child leaves, then it seems to be a rush to tidy up and prepare dinner and await Kevin getting home. Dinner is nice and relaxing catching up with my husband and kids on their days. Once dinner is done its a race to clean up, get homework done, bathe each kid, play for a bit and then its time for the kids bedtime routine. This is on a night when neither kid has an activity to be at such as soccer, dance or swimming. The kids are usually in bed by 8:30. Once the kids are in bed, I finish laundry (is anyone really ever done doing laundry?), sometimes I workout or I curl up and watch my favorite shows.
In the nicer months, I try to get out to the barn a few times a week, making time for that is a struggle as well, there is so much to do out there from cleaning the barn to cleaning and caring for the horses. Sometimes by the time I get all the barn chores done, its dark and there's no time to ride. Then there is racing, which takes up the majority of our weekends, which is fine as we love it and its something we all enjoy as a family, but 3 nights, every weekend makes it hard to do other activities on our days off.
I think one of my biggest challenges is myself. I'm constantly adding things to my to do list, and it just piles on. I work from home, and I'll look around my house and notice little things that need to be done. Things that could probably wait, but it will bug me if I don't get to it. I always think if I just hurry up and get things done, then I'll have more time with the kids to play or go do something fun. Another fault of mine is, I expect my house to be spotless and tidy, I expect to be on top of my kids needs and prepared for anything they may have going on. I expect this out of myself because I am home all day, yes I still may be working but I can't justify in mind not having these things done.
What about Kevin helping out? Kevin does the dishes every night after dinner, and we take turns giving the kids baths. He does all of the outside/yard chores. If he's home he will help me fold laundry or if I ask him to do something, he's always happy to help out. Many nights he will tell me to go relax and take a bath and he'll take care of whatever needs to be done. I never expect him to do the household chores, call me old fashion but I feel like that is my job. Kevin works hard and often times has to work 16-18 hour days and on the weekends, so when he gets home I want him to be able to relax and enjoy his time with us and not have to put in time here.
I'm curious how other women manage there time. How do some work outside the home and still manage to care for their children, keep a clean house and prepare dinner? How do other moms who work from home schedule their time to do all of the above? What could I be doing differently that would make my days go smoother without me being exhausted, yet still getting my chores done? Or do I put to much importance on having a clean, organized house and having everything "done"?
I'm off to sweep and vacuum! (I just can't Let It Go!)
Have a safe and Happy St. Patricks Day!
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Catching Up
Blake turned 6 on January 16th! 6! Some days I just look at him in amazement, where has the time gone that I now have a boy, not a toddler but a boy. Its been a wonderful 6 years, I'm so thankful I was able to be home with him and not miss anything. We all are excited to see what Blake will do and learn next, his firsts are our firsts as well (as he's our oldest). His birthday was on a Friday so we had our immediate family over for dinner and ice cream cake. The next day Blake had his first friend birthday that was somewhere other than our house. Him and 15 of his friends went bowling. The bowling alley in Rice Lake offers a great birthday package (2 games, pizza, pop and cupcakes). The kids had a blast and Blake was happy!
Kevin raced in Florida again this year and a had a great speed weeks, the best one yet! He and Bob left early Saturday January 24th, Dave and Curt flew down on Monday. Kevin along with some other drivers rented East Bay for a private practice session on Monday, hence the reason they left early. He had excellent finishes at East Bay, Thursday: Heat 1st/Feature 3rd, Friday: Heat 1st/Feature 6th. Those results qualified him to be in the top 6 in points for Saturday, which rewarded him by not having to race a heat on Saturday. He started 6th in the 75 lap feature and ended up 5th. We were all happy with the results! Its a learning curve bringing a new car down there and trying to test and tune that along with having to decide on the right tire compound. After East Bay, Kevin headed north to Ocala to race at Bubba's Raceway Park and was rained out Thursday night and won Friday night! Kevin also won his heat race that night! Saturday and Sunday Kevin again headed north to Lake City to race at North Florida Speedway. Saturday results: Heat 2nd/Feature 3rd and Sunday: Heat 2nd/Feature 3rd!
The kids, myself and my dad flew down on Thursday January 29th, at 7am...ugh! Never again will Kevin make my flight arrangements! That early is rough with kids, even though we stayed about 5 minutes from the airport the night before. We've made it a tradition to stay at the Best Western Plus behind the MOA, it has a great pool area for kids. I told the kids no movies or iPads until they took a nap and sure enough they both cuddled up and fell asleep. Blake was sleeping before we took off and Brooke fell asleep just after take off, they slept until we were about 30 minutes out. I was so thankful.Once we landed we got our rental car and headed to Brandon, FL which is about 20 minutes away. We quickly unpacked, went and grabbed lunch and spent the afternoon enjoying the cold pool! The kids didn't mind a bit and I enjoyed catching some rays while my dad napped in a lounge chair. I do love Florida! Finally we got ready and headed to the track to see Kevin, I loved seeing the happiness on the kids faces as well as Kevin's! We sure miss him when he's gone and I think he misses us just as much. Blake was so happy to be at the races and was content to sit and watch in the stands with both grandpa's. Brooke on the other hand not so much, she was stuck to Kevin like glue, she just doesn't care to sit and watch.
Friday Kevin and the guys headed out to the track early, so the kids, my dad and I headed to Clearwater. Our first stop was to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium to see Winter and Hope from Dolphin Tale 1 & 2. Besides seeing Kev's this was the best part of the trip. It was amazing to see Winter, as she has such a special story behind her rescue. The whole experience was really interesting, there was quite a bit to see and learn and we all enjoyed it! Funny story: Blake and Brooke were standing by the petting pool for the Sting Rays, Blake was happily petting any that swam by him, where Brooke was a bit more standoffish. Eventually she came to stand by me and watch the dolphins through a window, apparently my dad wasn't paying attention when another little girl came up to stand by him to watch the Sting Rays. Dad grabbed the little girls arm and stuck in the water as a Sting Ray swam by...he looked down and sure enough it wasn't Brooke. Dad was so embarrassed! Luckily the little girls parents laughed it off and put dad at ease. Afterwards we went to the beach, all the times my kids have been to Florida they have never seen the ocean. It was windy and not the warmest day, but they had fun building sandcastles, running in the water and chasing seagulls! As we headed back to the track which is about 45-60 minutes in traffic, all was going well until I merged onto 275 South instead of 275 North like I needed. 275 S brings you to St. Petersburg and its a long bridge with NO off ramps. Once we got turned around and started heading north the traffic was bumper to bumper at 20 mph. Thank goodness for DVD players and snacks, it kept the kids busy. My dad on the other hand kept making fun of me "Well Megs, if your gonna f*ck up, ya my as well do it good! And well, ya did!" He thought it was hilarious! I did not as our hour drive back took 2 hours. All we missed at the track was hot laps and time trials, so we weren't too late.
Saturday we (the kids, me and my dad) headed to Busch Gardens for the afternoon. Blake and I have been there before and I liked it. This time however I wasn't too impressed. For the cost of admission (which is the same as Disney for a day.) it didn't seem like it was worth it. We did like seeing all of the animals and most of the rides there were minimal waits. I just felt like it was a little disorganized or maybe I was disorganized?! (I do not function well like that!) Or maybe it was the fact that my sweet little 3 year old got us kicked off the carousel? Yes, you heard that right. Here's why: Blake picked out two horses that were side by side, the one for Brooke was white with pink and sparkles and his horse had a black mask on, he thought they were perfect for the two of them. Brooke did not think so. Soon the ride filled up and we couldn't move, well the Brooklyn decided to cry, not a sad cry but a scream cry. Oy. We made it 1 1/2 laps and the ride stopped, the ride attendant came up to us and told me that she can't operate the ride if a child is crying. Brooke wouldn't stop, so we all got off the ride. Meanwhile other riders started getting off and the girl proceeds to yell "the ride isn't over, please stay on, some riders needed to get off!" As we exit, my dad is sitting on a bench laughing hysterically! I was so embarrassed. I scolded her, so she then started crying that she only wanted her grandpa. So grandpa scoops her up and all is well. No words. It was time for lunch and we didn't have much luck finding a place to eat, they were either too crowded, no one working or out of food. It was my kids lucky day, they had chicken on a stick, root beer floats and a funnel cake. We all got to go on the log ride (flume) twice and we enjoyed the train ride that went around the park and on a safari! We went on a few more kids rides and then headed for the track. Luckily it was only a 15 minute drive that was a straight shot...we made it with no wrong turns ;-) I was impressed the kids made it through the 75 lap feature without an issues. We got back to the hotel at 11:50 which was rough as we had to leave for the airport at 5:30am, we flew out at 8:00am Sunday morning. Blake and Brooke slept the whole flight home, thank God!
Our trip was quick but fun! The best part was spending time with Kevin. Kevin came home on the 9th, so that week was spent catching up with him!
February flew by in haze! My birthday is on Valentines Day, which happened to be a Saturday, it allowed me to spend the day with my kiddos! Breakfast in bed and lunch from my favorite Bistro in town. Kevs and the kids had my favorite cake made...it was sooo good! Blake and Brooke stayed over at grandma Linda's house so Kevin and I could go have dinner and see 50 Shades of Grey! To be honest at first I didn't like the movie as I read the books and neither of the actors fit what I thought they "should" look like. By the end of the movie they both won me over! Can't wait for the next movies to come out! (Kevin didn't even mind seeing and thought it was good!)
Saturday February 21st we had the RLS banquet. Keytun, Crystal and I decorated, it was so easy, we have a great system from years past and had it decorated and organized in an hour. We all had a great time...good food, cold drinks and great friends!
The last weekend in February the kids and I loaded up and went to Duluth. It was so nice going home! My mom, my sister and I had a great day shopping and going out to lunch, while my dad took Blake and Brooke for a fun grandpa day. We also got to see my grandparents both days. They both amaze me, grandma Bev is 80 and grandpa Bill is 84 and they are still active and out and about quite a bit. We had a big Sunday breakfast at their house and it was all homemade and made with love!
Blake and Brooke both started swim lessons a few weeks ago, they go two times a week for 40 minutes. Blake has always been a bit timid about the water, but now that he's in level 2, he's got no fear and is doing great! Brooke is my little fish and is not scared of anything...which scares me! She thinks that she is Hazel from the Dolphin Tale movies!
Last weekend was pretty expensive for me...I have two vacuums, one for the basement and one for upstairs (I hate having to drag vacuums all over!), there both Dyson's and both quit working last week. Ugh. I did a little research and decided to go with the Shark vacuums. I LOVE them! It was actually embarrassing vacuuming, I vacuum daily (I have a dog, kids running all over, and we live in the country = DIRT!) and the amount of dirt and hair that was vacuumed was gross! I'm a neat freak and I hate anything dirty, dusty or not put away. Drives me nuts! A few weeks ago I had our air ducts cleaned as well, it took forever but it was well worth it to get all the dust and dirt out of them. I've been doing all my spring cleaning the last few weeks...I've gone through dressers, closets, cupboards and all I have left is my kitchen cabinets. We also put up drywall in our storage room, what a pain in the a** that was. We built our house in 2008 and I was in such a rush to move in and get settled, I was pregnant with Blake and I was starting my in home daycare in September, and just had a lot going on and I didn't really care at the time if the storage room was finished or not. We just threw up some shelves and shoved anything and everything in there. Its amazing how much junk a person collects, I gave a way a bunch of stuff, made a big garage sale pile. We put up a ton of shelving, now everything that we need or want to keep are in totes and labeled up on the shelves. I have a section for everything: holiday decor, home decor, office supplies, daycare toys and extras, tools/paint supplies, along with RLS banquet decor and kids club supplies. Now when I walk in there I sigh with relief that its organized and clean. Love it!
Well enough of my rambling! Laters for now!
Kevin raced in Florida again this year and a had a great speed weeks, the best one yet! He and Bob left early Saturday January 24th, Dave and Curt flew down on Monday. Kevin along with some other drivers rented East Bay for a private practice session on Monday, hence the reason they left early. He had excellent finishes at East Bay, Thursday: Heat 1st/Feature 3rd, Friday: Heat 1st/Feature 6th. Those results qualified him to be in the top 6 in points for Saturday, which rewarded him by not having to race a heat on Saturday. He started 6th in the 75 lap feature and ended up 5th. We were all happy with the results! Its a learning curve bringing a new car down there and trying to test and tune that along with having to decide on the right tire compound. After East Bay, Kevin headed north to Ocala to race at Bubba's Raceway Park and was rained out Thursday night and won Friday night! Kevin also won his heat race that night! Saturday and Sunday Kevin again headed north to Lake City to race at North Florida Speedway. Saturday results: Heat 2nd/Feature 3rd and Sunday: Heat 2nd/Feature 3rd!
The kids, myself and my dad flew down on Thursday January 29th, at 7am...ugh! Never again will Kevin make my flight arrangements! That early is rough with kids, even though we stayed about 5 minutes from the airport the night before. We've made it a tradition to stay at the Best Western Plus behind the MOA, it has a great pool area for kids. I told the kids no movies or iPads until they took a nap and sure enough they both cuddled up and fell asleep. Blake was sleeping before we took off and Brooke fell asleep just after take off, they slept until we were about 30 minutes out. I was so thankful.Once we landed we got our rental car and headed to Brandon, FL which is about 20 minutes away. We quickly unpacked, went and grabbed lunch and spent the afternoon enjoying the cold pool! The kids didn't mind a bit and I enjoyed catching some rays while my dad napped in a lounge chair. I do love Florida! Finally we got ready and headed to the track to see Kevin, I loved seeing the happiness on the kids faces as well as Kevin's! We sure miss him when he's gone and I think he misses us just as much. Blake was so happy to be at the races and was content to sit and watch in the stands with both grandpa's. Brooke on the other hand not so much, she was stuck to Kevin like glue, she just doesn't care to sit and watch.
Friday Kevin and the guys headed out to the track early, so the kids, my dad and I headed to Clearwater. Our first stop was to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium to see Winter and Hope from Dolphin Tale 1 & 2. Besides seeing Kev's this was the best part of the trip. It was amazing to see Winter, as she has such a special story behind her rescue. The whole experience was really interesting, there was quite a bit to see and learn and we all enjoyed it! Funny story: Blake and Brooke were standing by the petting pool for the Sting Rays, Blake was happily petting any that swam by him, where Brooke was a bit more standoffish. Eventually she came to stand by me and watch the dolphins through a window, apparently my dad wasn't paying attention when another little girl came up to stand by him to watch the Sting Rays. Dad grabbed the little girls arm and stuck in the water as a Sting Ray swam by...he looked down and sure enough it wasn't Brooke. Dad was so embarrassed! Luckily the little girls parents laughed it off and put dad at ease. Afterwards we went to the beach, all the times my kids have been to Florida they have never seen the ocean. It was windy and not the warmest day, but they had fun building sandcastles, running in the water and chasing seagulls! As we headed back to the track which is about 45-60 minutes in traffic, all was going well until I merged onto 275 South instead of 275 North like I needed. 275 S brings you to St. Petersburg and its a long bridge with NO off ramps. Once we got turned around and started heading north the traffic was bumper to bumper at 20 mph. Thank goodness for DVD players and snacks, it kept the kids busy. My dad on the other hand kept making fun of me "Well Megs, if your gonna f*ck up, ya my as well do it good! And well, ya did!" He thought it was hilarious! I did not as our hour drive back took 2 hours. All we missed at the track was hot laps and time trials, so we weren't too late.
Saturday we (the kids, me and my dad) headed to Busch Gardens for the afternoon. Blake and I have been there before and I liked it. This time however I wasn't too impressed. For the cost of admission (which is the same as Disney for a day.) it didn't seem like it was worth it. We did like seeing all of the animals and most of the rides there were minimal waits. I just felt like it was a little disorganized or maybe I was disorganized?! (I do not function well like that!) Or maybe it was the fact that my sweet little 3 year old got us kicked off the carousel? Yes, you heard that right. Here's why: Blake picked out two horses that were side by side, the one for Brooke was white with pink and sparkles and his horse had a black mask on, he thought they were perfect for the two of them. Brooke did not think so. Soon the ride filled up and we couldn't move, well the Brooklyn decided to cry, not a sad cry but a scream cry. Oy. We made it 1 1/2 laps and the ride stopped, the ride attendant came up to us and told me that she can't operate the ride if a child is crying. Brooke wouldn't stop, so we all got off the ride. Meanwhile other riders started getting off and the girl proceeds to yell "the ride isn't over, please stay on, some riders needed to get off!" As we exit, my dad is sitting on a bench laughing hysterically! I was so embarrassed. I scolded her, so she then started crying that she only wanted her grandpa. So grandpa scoops her up and all is well. No words. It was time for lunch and we didn't have much luck finding a place to eat, they were either too crowded, no one working or out of food. It was my kids lucky day, they had chicken on a stick, root beer floats and a funnel cake. We all got to go on the log ride (flume) twice and we enjoyed the train ride that went around the park and on a safari! We went on a few more kids rides and then headed for the track. Luckily it was only a 15 minute drive that was a straight shot...we made it with no wrong turns ;-) I was impressed the kids made it through the 75 lap feature without an issues. We got back to the hotel at 11:50 which was rough as we had to leave for the airport at 5:30am, we flew out at 8:00am Sunday morning. Blake and Brooke slept the whole flight home, thank God!
Our trip was quick but fun! The best part was spending time with Kevin. Kevin came home on the 9th, so that week was spent catching up with him!
February flew by in haze! My birthday is on Valentines Day, which happened to be a Saturday, it allowed me to spend the day with my kiddos! Breakfast in bed and lunch from my favorite Bistro in town. Kevs and the kids had my favorite cake made...it was sooo good! Blake and Brooke stayed over at grandma Linda's house so Kevin and I could go have dinner and see 50 Shades of Grey! To be honest at first I didn't like the movie as I read the books and neither of the actors fit what I thought they "should" look like. By the end of the movie they both won me over! Can't wait for the next movies to come out! (Kevin didn't even mind seeing and thought it was good!)
Saturday February 21st we had the RLS banquet. Keytun, Crystal and I decorated, it was so easy, we have a great system from years past and had it decorated and organized in an hour. We all had a great time...good food, cold drinks and great friends!
The last weekend in February the kids and I loaded up and went to Duluth. It was so nice going home! My mom, my sister and I had a great day shopping and going out to lunch, while my dad took Blake and Brooke for a fun grandpa day. We also got to see my grandparents both days. They both amaze me, grandma Bev is 80 and grandpa Bill is 84 and they are still active and out and about quite a bit. We had a big Sunday breakfast at their house and it was all homemade and made with love!
Blake and Brooke both started swim lessons a few weeks ago, they go two times a week for 40 minutes. Blake has always been a bit timid about the water, but now that he's in level 2, he's got no fear and is doing great! Brooke is my little fish and is not scared of anything...which scares me! She thinks that she is Hazel from the Dolphin Tale movies!
Last weekend was pretty expensive for me...I have two vacuums, one for the basement and one for upstairs (I hate having to drag vacuums all over!), there both Dyson's and both quit working last week. Ugh. I did a little research and decided to go with the Shark vacuums. I LOVE them! It was actually embarrassing vacuuming, I vacuum daily (I have a dog, kids running all over, and we live in the country = DIRT!) and the amount of dirt and hair that was vacuumed was gross! I'm a neat freak and I hate anything dirty, dusty or not put away. Drives me nuts! A few weeks ago I had our air ducts cleaned as well, it took forever but it was well worth it to get all the dust and dirt out of them. I've been doing all my spring cleaning the last few weeks...I've gone through dressers, closets, cupboards and all I have left is my kitchen cabinets. We also put up drywall in our storage room, what a pain in the a** that was. We built our house in 2008 and I was in such a rush to move in and get settled, I was pregnant with Blake and I was starting my in home daycare in September, and just had a lot going on and I didn't really care at the time if the storage room was finished or not. We just threw up some shelves and shoved anything and everything in there. Its amazing how much junk a person collects, I gave a way a bunch of stuff, made a big garage sale pile. We put up a ton of shelving, now everything that we need or want to keep are in totes and labeled up on the shelves. I have a section for everything: holiday decor, home decor, office supplies, daycare toys and extras, tools/paint supplies, along with RLS banquet decor and kids club supplies. Now when I walk in there I sigh with relief that its organized and clean. Love it!
Well enough of my rambling! Laters for now!
Friday, February 13, 2015
Disney 2015
Sunday January 4th we headed to Disney World for our annual 7 day, 6 night family vacation and we had an awesome time! It gets better every year. Maybe because the kids are older and they can do more, or because they remember things from the year before and are eager to do them again or because we continue to try new things. Either way, we all love going there, we look forward to it every year and we are happy to have made it a yearly tradition for our family. To be honest I'm not sure how to explain why we love Disney World so much. The hotel (The Grand Floridian) is by far the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at and from the moment you arrive until the moment you depart, the experience there is breathtaking. The flowers throughout the resort are beautiful, the scent that is pumped throughout the buildings is delicious, the food and restaurants are amazing and truly a work of art for your taste buds. The staff is so knowledgeable, kind and welcoming, they really do take exceptional care of you while you are there. The rooms have all been remodeled and are beautiful! After a long day in the parks to arrive back "home" to this hotel and a beautiful and comfortable room, my whole body "sighs...ah". The convenience of where our hotel is located can't be beat, we can see Magic Kingdom from our hotel room and we are only 5 minutes away! Maybe that's why we love it so much? We have a blast at all 4 parks and Downtown Disney, we all get to do and see things that we each want and for the most part we can all enjoy it together (with Brooke being older and taller, we are able to ride most rides together and not be separated!). One of my favorite parts of Disney is, its 7 days of our family together all day, every day, no cell phones, no work, no school, no responsibilities, no face book, no nothing. Its just us enjoying time together, seeing and doing new things, there is nothing better! We are so thankful that we have been able to do this for our kids and ourselves and we hope that we can continue to do this family trip for many, many years to come! (Currently we already have ideas for next years Disney vacation!)
We arrived on Sunday at noon and it was beautiful out! Warm and sunny! Since we stay at Disney the entire time of our stay, we don't rent a car, but instead bored the Magical Express, which is a Disney fleet of coach buses that will pick you up and drop you off at the airport. Disney also picks up our luggage so we don't need to bother with that hassle! Its about a 30 min ride (give or take) to our hotel. Once we got checked in, we got settled into our room, right away we changed into swimsuits and went to rent 2, 2 person boats to cruise the lagoon around our hotel and Magic Kingdom. This is one of Kevin's favorite things to do! After that we went and enjoyed the pools. The kids had a blast at the kiddie area, but eventually both kids wanted to try the big water slide. They LOVED it! Brooklyn even went down all by herself, she's so brave! Kevin and I enjoyed some drinks by the pool and just enjoyed the day. It was wonderful. It was a long day as we left home at 5am, our flight was at 9am, (thankfully we were able to get first class seats, we were able to have breakfast on the plane and we were all able to rest and watch a movie or nap!) and after a fun day in and on the water, we ordered room service and hit the hay early!
Monday: We were up bright and early for a big day at Magic Kingdom! The kids had their first Mickey waffles for breakfast (which they ate everyday!) which is so exciting for them, its really the start of a Disney day! We got to the park before it opened, something we have never done before and got to watch the morning welcome show. Blake had an appointment at 9am for the Pirates League, its a salon type place that transforms your kid into a pirate! Kids can pick out anything and everything from their costumes and face make up to their pirate name. Blake picked the Jack Sparrow pirate costume, it was really cool! He even let them paint a beard on him. Blake loved it and was so excited to be a pirate! Brooklyn also had an appointment at 9am at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Cinderella's castle (Kevin went with Blake and I went with Brooklyn.). Anyone who knows me, knows that I have been waiting for this appointment since I found out we were having a girl! They take appts. for children 3 and older...its been a long wait! I booked this appointment last July to ensure that it would be at the castle and not another location. I'm so glad I did because it was an amazing experience and Brooke was in complete awe of everything that was happening. The fairy godmothers (the ladies who work there) got a kick out of me...when they asked what package I wanted to buy, I didn't even look, I told them I wanted Brooke to have everything, the dress, the hair, nails, purse, crown etc.! Brooke wanted to be Princess Anna, of course! We had to wait a bit for the "mice" to make her dress, when we went back to her dressing room, her dress was there with her crown, wand, purse, gloves and jewelry. She was so excited, she jumped up and down! Once we got her changed we went out the salon area to have hair and make up done. Brooke got really shy and quiet, which is very unlike her. She was happy to pick out the hairstyle she wanted as well as her nail polish. While she's having all of this done her back is to the mirror, once she was all done up, her fairy godmother turned her around to show her and her face was absolutely priceless! Her jaw dropped and then she had the biggest smile! While Kevin brought Brooklyn on Prince Charming's Carousel, Blake and I headed to Space Mountain, my personal favorite ride! We spent the rest of the day enjoying MK, we even managed to get reservations at the Be Our Guest Restaurant in Belle's Castle. It was beautiful and the food was amazing.! We had an early dinner and then we booked it to Big Thunder Mtn, which we all enjoyed it! After that the kids were exhausted so we went back to the hotel to relax and catch the boat show.
Tuesday: We headed to Hollywood Studios for a fun day in the sun! This park is pretty relaxing, its not as busy as MK and just a slower pace. We got there early and were able to do a few things that were must do's that we didn't have Fast Passes for...we saw Frozen, the sing along, the kids got to play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area and the Tower of Terror. Yes, we were "those parents" who brought our 3 year old onto Tower of Terror! She liked it until Blake got mad/scared about the ghosts! Its all in fun right? For lunch we had reservations at the Sci-Fi Dine in Theater restaurant. It was very cool, when you walk in it feels like you are outside at a drive in theater, the booths were made to look like convertibles, and they play clips of old, very corny sci-fi movies. The food was delicious and we all liked the whole experience. After lunch we went on the Buzz Lightyear ride, the Great Movie Ride and the Star Wars ride. We did end up splitting up so the kids could see the shows that they each wanted to see. Blake and Kevin went to the stunt show and Indiana Jones show, while Brooke and I went to the Little Mermaid, Disney Jr and Beauty and the Beast shows. We were hoping to stay and watch Fantasmic, the night show, but the kids were just too tired. We headed back to the hotel were Grandma Linda and Great Aunt Lucy were waiting for the kids (We had adjoining rooms, plenty of space!). The kids got to enjoy room service, the boat show and some free time, while Kevin and I headed to Downtown Disney to eat at Fulton's. It was such a nice date night, our favorite restaurant, drinks and time alone = perfect!
Wednesday: We started off our day at Chef Mickey's inside The Contemporary Resort. We go here every year and the kids love it! Its a nice buffet of breakfast food and you get to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck. I don't think the kids eat that much as they are so excited to see who is coming to our table next. We love doing the character meals, you get to meet the characters without the hassle of having to stand in line or waste a Fast Pass meeting them in the parks. After that we hoped on a bus and headed to Animal Kingdom. We enjoyed the Lion King show, the Kilimanjaro Safari, the Dinosaur ride....which Kevin and I loved but Brooke hated and Blake was not too fond of,even though he loved it last year! Apparently they don't like 30 foot T-Rex's roaring in their faces! To each their own! ;-) While in line we did happen to run into our best friends! Ryan, Keytun, Brylee and Jema Viltz were also at Disney World! Small world that we would actually run into them, it was great to see some of our favorite faces! After that the kids played in the dinosaur play area and rode on the kid friendly dinosaur ride. We had lunch and enjoyed looking at the animals they have there. We headed back to the hotel mid afternoon, the kids stayed with grandma as Kevin and I had a date night at Epcot. We enjoyed drinking our way through the countries and we had a great dinner at Marrakesh, a Moroccan restaurant. I have always wanted to eat there, as the pavilion within Epcot is beautiful, I was curious for the whole experience. We had traditional meals that were recommended by our waitress, they were excellent as was the belly dancer that performed during dinner. After dinner we grabbed another drink and found a spot to watch Illuminations (the night show at Epcot). It was a great way to end another great day!
Thursday: We snagged reservations for breakfast with Cinderella and her friends at Citrico's (a restaurant at our hotel), much to Blake's dismay! LOL Usually the princess's host breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table which is at the castle, but its getting renovated so they moved the breakfast to our hotel, which was super handy for us. Once again the kids, especially Brooklyn didn't eat much, but they both enjoyed meeting the princesses. Brooklyn was so happy and excited, her smile said it all! Even Blake liked meeting them....shhh don't tell anyone tho! We had to hurry through breakfast and book it to Epcot as we had a Fast Pass for Soarin' and we did not want to miss it, as wait times can be up to 90 minutes. We made it, right on the head, thank goodness! After that ride, we went on the Finding Nemo ride and to the aquarium. We then headed to the Mexico pavilion to go on the Donald Duck boat ride. Kevin and Blake then took off for the Mission Space ride, as Brooke is too short, so we rode the boat ride again! We met up again for lunch and then proceeded to wait for over an hour for the Test Track ride...Blake's favorite ride! We all loved it! While in line we made reservations for Cirque du Soliel and the T-Rex restaurant in Downtown Disney. I wasn't too sure about the T-Rex restaurant, but once we got in there it was really neat, the kids really liked it! The food was great, but wow was it loud in there...I could have done without that. After dinner we headed to the Cirque du Soleil show, Kevin and I saw it years ago, pre-kid era, so we were looking forward to seeing it again. The kids were amazed, they have talked about it quite a bit since then and have even reenacted it. After the show we headed to the World of Disney store and did all of our shopping (Disney shirts, photo album and some toys).
Friday: We were back to Magic Kingdom to finish up our week. It was cold and overcast and rain was on its way, but that also means less people! We had Fast Passes for the Seven Dwarfs Mine ride and to see Anna and Elsa. The ride was cute but not very long and it was raining when we went on it, kind of a bummer. Anna and Elsa of course were a huge it...it was so nice having a Fast Pass to see them instead of waiting for 90 minutes to see them, like Brooke and I did last year! We also managed to see the stage show in front of the castle as well as the afternoon parade. We went on the Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin's Magic Carpet and the Jungle Cruise. Once we had hit all of the things that we wanted to do, we asked the kids what they would like to do, one more ride (it was getting dark, they were tired and it was cold!) or head for the hotel. The kids wanted to go on Big Thunder Mountain one more time...off we went and it was a blast at night! Sadly we headed back to our hotel...leaving any park but especially MK on your last night of vacation, really is depressing! Once back in our room we gave the kids quick baths and started packing and preparing to depart. We did get to watch the boat show one last time, that was a nice way to end the night and our vacation.
Saturday: We went home.
We had a wonderful time, the kids are already asking about when we are going back. We hope next year and if I can talk my hubby into it, maybe we will add a couple of more days!
Monday: We were up bright and early for a big day at Magic Kingdom! The kids had their first Mickey waffles for breakfast (which they ate everyday!) which is so exciting for them, its really the start of a Disney day! We got to the park before it opened, something we have never done before and got to watch the morning welcome show. Blake had an appointment at 9am for the Pirates League, its a salon type place that transforms your kid into a pirate! Kids can pick out anything and everything from their costumes and face make up to their pirate name. Blake picked the Jack Sparrow pirate costume, it was really cool! He even let them paint a beard on him. Blake loved it and was so excited to be a pirate! Brooklyn also had an appointment at 9am at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Cinderella's castle (Kevin went with Blake and I went with Brooklyn.). Anyone who knows me, knows that I have been waiting for this appointment since I found out we were having a girl! They take appts. for children 3 and older...its been a long wait! I booked this appointment last July to ensure that it would be at the castle and not another location. I'm so glad I did because it was an amazing experience and Brooke was in complete awe of everything that was happening. The fairy godmothers (the ladies who work there) got a kick out of me...when they asked what package I wanted to buy, I didn't even look, I told them I wanted Brooke to have everything, the dress, the hair, nails, purse, crown etc.! Brooke wanted to be Princess Anna, of course! We had to wait a bit for the "mice" to make her dress, when we went back to her dressing room, her dress was there with her crown, wand, purse, gloves and jewelry. She was so excited, she jumped up and down! Once we got her changed we went out the salon area to have hair and make up done. Brooke got really shy and quiet, which is very unlike her. She was happy to pick out the hairstyle she wanted as well as her nail polish. While she's having all of this done her back is to the mirror, once she was all done up, her fairy godmother turned her around to show her and her face was absolutely priceless! Her jaw dropped and then she had the biggest smile! While Kevin brought Brooklyn on Prince Charming's Carousel, Blake and I headed to Space Mountain, my personal favorite ride! We spent the rest of the day enjoying MK, we even managed to get reservations at the Be Our Guest Restaurant in Belle's Castle. It was beautiful and the food was amazing.! We had an early dinner and then we booked it to Big Thunder Mtn, which we all enjoyed it! After that the kids were exhausted so we went back to the hotel to relax and catch the boat show.
Tuesday: We headed to Hollywood Studios for a fun day in the sun! This park is pretty relaxing, its not as busy as MK and just a slower pace. We got there early and were able to do a few things that were must do's that we didn't have Fast Passes for...we saw Frozen, the sing along, the kids got to play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area and the Tower of Terror. Yes, we were "those parents" who brought our 3 year old onto Tower of Terror! She liked it until Blake got mad/scared about the ghosts! Its all in fun right? For lunch we had reservations at the Sci-Fi Dine in Theater restaurant. It was very cool, when you walk in it feels like you are outside at a drive in theater, the booths were made to look like convertibles, and they play clips of old, very corny sci-fi movies. The food was delicious and we all liked the whole experience. After lunch we went on the Buzz Lightyear ride, the Great Movie Ride and the Star Wars ride. We did end up splitting up so the kids could see the shows that they each wanted to see. Blake and Kevin went to the stunt show and Indiana Jones show, while Brooke and I went to the Little Mermaid, Disney Jr and Beauty and the Beast shows. We were hoping to stay and watch Fantasmic, the night show, but the kids were just too tired. We headed back to the hotel were Grandma Linda and Great Aunt Lucy were waiting for the kids (We had adjoining rooms, plenty of space!). The kids got to enjoy room service, the boat show and some free time, while Kevin and I headed to Downtown Disney to eat at Fulton's. It was such a nice date night, our favorite restaurant, drinks and time alone = perfect!
Wednesday: We started off our day at Chef Mickey's inside The Contemporary Resort. We go here every year and the kids love it! Its a nice buffet of breakfast food and you get to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck. I don't think the kids eat that much as they are so excited to see who is coming to our table next. We love doing the character meals, you get to meet the characters without the hassle of having to stand in line or waste a Fast Pass meeting them in the parks. After that we hoped on a bus and headed to Animal Kingdom. We enjoyed the Lion King show, the Kilimanjaro Safari, the Dinosaur ride....which Kevin and I loved but Brooke hated and Blake was not too fond of,even though he loved it last year! Apparently they don't like 30 foot T-Rex's roaring in their faces! To each their own! ;-) While in line we did happen to run into our best friends! Ryan, Keytun, Brylee and Jema Viltz were also at Disney World! Small world that we would actually run into them, it was great to see some of our favorite faces! After that the kids played in the dinosaur play area and rode on the kid friendly dinosaur ride. We had lunch and enjoyed looking at the animals they have there. We headed back to the hotel mid afternoon, the kids stayed with grandma as Kevin and I had a date night at Epcot. We enjoyed drinking our way through the countries and we had a great dinner at Marrakesh, a Moroccan restaurant. I have always wanted to eat there, as the pavilion within Epcot is beautiful, I was curious for the whole experience. We had traditional meals that were recommended by our waitress, they were excellent as was the belly dancer that performed during dinner. After dinner we grabbed another drink and found a spot to watch Illuminations (the night show at Epcot). It was a great way to end another great day!
Thursday: We snagged reservations for breakfast with Cinderella and her friends at Citrico's (a restaurant at our hotel), much to Blake's dismay! LOL Usually the princess's host breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table which is at the castle, but its getting renovated so they moved the breakfast to our hotel, which was super handy for us. Once again the kids, especially Brooklyn didn't eat much, but they both enjoyed meeting the princesses. Brooklyn was so happy and excited, her smile said it all! Even Blake liked meeting them....shhh don't tell anyone tho! We had to hurry through breakfast and book it to Epcot as we had a Fast Pass for Soarin' and we did not want to miss it, as wait times can be up to 90 minutes. We made it, right on the head, thank goodness! After that ride, we went on the Finding Nemo ride and to the aquarium. We then headed to the Mexico pavilion to go on the Donald Duck boat ride. Kevin and Blake then took off for the Mission Space ride, as Brooke is too short, so we rode the boat ride again! We met up again for lunch and then proceeded to wait for over an hour for the Test Track ride...Blake's favorite ride! We all loved it! While in line we made reservations for Cirque du Soliel and the T-Rex restaurant in Downtown Disney. I wasn't too sure about the T-Rex restaurant, but once we got in there it was really neat, the kids really liked it! The food was great, but wow was it loud in there...I could have done without that. After dinner we headed to the Cirque du Soleil show, Kevin and I saw it years ago, pre-kid era, so we were looking forward to seeing it again. The kids were amazed, they have talked about it quite a bit since then and have even reenacted it. After the show we headed to the World of Disney store and did all of our shopping (Disney shirts, photo album and some toys).
Friday: We were back to Magic Kingdom to finish up our week. It was cold and overcast and rain was on its way, but that also means less people! We had Fast Passes for the Seven Dwarfs Mine ride and to see Anna and Elsa. The ride was cute but not very long and it was raining when we went on it, kind of a bummer. Anna and Elsa of course were a huge it...it was so nice having a Fast Pass to see them instead of waiting for 90 minutes to see them, like Brooke and I did last year! We also managed to see the stage show in front of the castle as well as the afternoon parade. We went on the Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin's Magic Carpet and the Jungle Cruise. Once we had hit all of the things that we wanted to do, we asked the kids what they would like to do, one more ride (it was getting dark, they were tired and it was cold!) or head for the hotel. The kids wanted to go on Big Thunder Mountain one more time...off we went and it was a blast at night! Sadly we headed back to our hotel...leaving any park but especially MK on your last night of vacation, really is depressing! Once back in our room we gave the kids quick baths and started packing and preparing to depart. We did get to watch the boat show one last time, that was a nice way to end the night and our vacation.
Saturday: We went home.
We had a wonderful time, the kids are already asking about when we are going back. We hope next year and if I can talk my hubby into it, maybe we will add a couple of more days!
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Christmas 2014
Christmas seemed to fly by this year, the whole month of December did really. We had a great Christmas with our families, lots of food, lots of laughs, and lots of smiles! I'm glad I took Friday off to recover from it all!
Christmas Eve Day was spent at our house, I made lasagna, a blue cheese ball and radish spread, which is our traditional meal/snacks. (I baked Sunday-Tuesday so we had lots of cookies and homemade fudge as well!) Once the house was picked up and the food was prepared, we all headed outside to enjoy the beautiful day! Kevin and Brooke towed Blake around on a tube with the 4 wheeler for about 2 hours, they all had a blast! Brooke and I spent some time with Ernie as well, Brooke brushed and hugged him! My mom, dad, sister and their dog Ziggy showed up and so began the endless questions of "can we open presents now?" We wait until after dinner to open gifts, the kids then "organized the gifts into piles for everyone, it kept them occupied for a good while. We enjoyed our meal, and we were rushed to clean up, Blake and Brooke couldn't wait any longer! Blake tore into all of his gifts, and was super excited about everything, even the clothes! He would yell "Look what I got!" after everything. His excitement was so cute to watch! Brooklyn steadily opened her gifts, she was pretty quiet, she would open a gift, study it and then move on to the next one. She did get excited over a few things: the walking panda bear, the Minnie Mouse set, a barrel horse, a barbie house and her leap pad. Blake's favorite gifts were the pirate ship, road race and Nintendo DS. The kids loved all the gifts and both were sweet and thanked everyone. After they were done opening gifts, my living room was a disaster! Once my mom and I got all the garbage picked up and Kevin got some of the toys opened, the adults opened their gifts. We all got a a lot of very nice gifts, some funny, some thoughtful, some useful and some fun! I do have to say, the funniest part was my mom and I exchanging gifts and we literally bought each other most of the same stuff! We are so much a like its crazy! (Which is fine with me because my mom is awesome!) We then drank wine/beer and watched the kids play. We did have some intense games of Battle ship....sorry I totally cheated mom! ha ha ha! Around 10 the kids left cookies and milk out for Santa, and off to bed they went!
Christmas morning started at 7:30 for us. Blake was wide awake, running down the hallway, yelling "Santa came! Santa was here!" He was so excited! Brooklyn was woke up by all the excitement! (She probably would have slept a lot longer!) Santa brought Blake a castle with superheros, a game, slippers and race cars! Santa brought Brooklyn a doll house, and accessories, slippers and an Olaf! Brooklyn was so excited when she opened her doll house she said "I dreamed about it!" Both kiddos loved their gifts! We enjoyed the morning with my family and then they were on the road, my parents headed back to Duluth to spend the day with my grandparents and my sister, Morgan headed to Scared Heart to spend the day with her boyfriend Levi. (Hopefully next year he can join us on Christmas Eve, unfortunately this year he was working.)
Christmas afternoon was spent at Kevin's parents house. My mother in law made a delicious meal and we all enjoyed the atmosphere that she creates. From the decorations, the music, the food, the gifts, everything is so festive! She puts so much effort into making Christmas special for all of us, we all appreciate it! The kids once again enjoyed organizing the gifts into piles while they waited for the meal and clean up to be done. Blake tore into his gifts right away, he was excited, but you could see the excitement of the last 24 hours started taking its toll on him, he was so tired. Brooklyn was much the same, opening gifts and studying what she got and then moving on to the next. Blake's favorite toys that he got were the Grave Digger remote control truck, the soccer game and another pirate ship! Brooke's favorite toys were the Anna and Elsa dolls and the princess jewelry! Dave, Linda and Lisa all went above and beyond with all the nice gifts for all of us, thank you all so much! The best part of the day was after all the chaos of gift opening was over and we just sat around and talked and watched the kids play with there toys.
December 26th was spent taking all of our Christmas decorations down! Both Kevin and I like to get it done right away, we put it all up early, maybe that's why. We then spent the rest of the weekend relaxing! Kevin was in the garage working on race cars and building the bodies for both my dads and his mods. My dad also came down Saturday and worked on his car. The kids love having him here! We ordered in pizza and hung out! Saturday I did some shopping for our upcoming vacation and bought some supplies for my new desk and some stuff to organize the kids toys better. Sunday was spent catching up on laundry and working on my new office area downstairs. It was a great weekend, sad its over tho!
Next up we will be headed back to Disney for our annual family vacation, we can't wait!! Blake will be turning 6 in a couple weeks (crazy to think that he's already 6...), Kevin will be headed to Florida to race towards the end of January. The kids, myself and my dad are hoping to book our flights this week so we can sneak down for a long weekend as well.
Happy New Year! Can't believe its 2015 already!!
Christmas Eve Day was spent at our house, I made lasagna, a blue cheese ball and radish spread, which is our traditional meal/snacks. (I baked Sunday-Tuesday so we had lots of cookies and homemade fudge as well!) Once the house was picked up and the food was prepared, we all headed outside to enjoy the beautiful day! Kevin and Brooke towed Blake around on a tube with the 4 wheeler for about 2 hours, they all had a blast! Brooke and I spent some time with Ernie as well, Brooke brushed and hugged him! My mom, dad, sister and their dog Ziggy showed up and so began the endless questions of "can we open presents now?" We wait until after dinner to open gifts, the kids then "organized the gifts into piles for everyone, it kept them occupied for a good while. We enjoyed our meal, and we were rushed to clean up, Blake and Brooke couldn't wait any longer! Blake tore into all of his gifts, and was super excited about everything, even the clothes! He would yell "Look what I got!" after everything. His excitement was so cute to watch! Brooklyn steadily opened her gifts, she was pretty quiet, she would open a gift, study it and then move on to the next one. She did get excited over a few things: the walking panda bear, the Minnie Mouse set, a barrel horse, a barbie house and her leap pad. Blake's favorite gifts were the pirate ship, road race and Nintendo DS. The kids loved all the gifts and both were sweet and thanked everyone. After they were done opening gifts, my living room was a disaster! Once my mom and I got all the garbage picked up and Kevin got some of the toys opened, the adults opened their gifts. We all got a a lot of very nice gifts, some funny, some thoughtful, some useful and some fun! I do have to say, the funniest part was my mom and I exchanging gifts and we literally bought each other most of the same stuff! We are so much a like its crazy! (Which is fine with me because my mom is awesome!) We then drank wine/beer and watched the kids play. We did have some intense games of Battle ship....sorry I totally cheated mom! ha ha ha! Around 10 the kids left cookies and milk out for Santa, and off to bed they went!
Christmas morning started at 7:30 for us. Blake was wide awake, running down the hallway, yelling "Santa came! Santa was here!" He was so excited! Brooklyn was woke up by all the excitement! (She probably would have slept a lot longer!) Santa brought Blake a castle with superheros, a game, slippers and race cars! Santa brought Brooklyn a doll house, and accessories, slippers and an Olaf! Brooklyn was so excited when she opened her doll house she said "I dreamed about it!" Both kiddos loved their gifts! We enjoyed the morning with my family and then they were on the road, my parents headed back to Duluth to spend the day with my grandparents and my sister, Morgan headed to Scared Heart to spend the day with her boyfriend Levi. (Hopefully next year he can join us on Christmas Eve, unfortunately this year he was working.)
Christmas afternoon was spent at Kevin's parents house. My mother in law made a delicious meal and we all enjoyed the atmosphere that she creates. From the decorations, the music, the food, the gifts, everything is so festive! She puts so much effort into making Christmas special for all of us, we all appreciate it! The kids once again enjoyed organizing the gifts into piles while they waited for the meal and clean up to be done. Blake tore into his gifts right away, he was excited, but you could see the excitement of the last 24 hours started taking its toll on him, he was so tired. Brooklyn was much the same, opening gifts and studying what she got and then moving on to the next. Blake's favorite toys that he got were the Grave Digger remote control truck, the soccer game and another pirate ship! Brooke's favorite toys were the Anna and Elsa dolls and the princess jewelry! Dave, Linda and Lisa all went above and beyond with all the nice gifts for all of us, thank you all so much! The best part of the day was after all the chaos of gift opening was over and we just sat around and talked and watched the kids play with there toys.
December 26th was spent taking all of our Christmas decorations down! Both Kevin and I like to get it done right away, we put it all up early, maybe that's why. We then spent the rest of the weekend relaxing! Kevin was in the garage working on race cars and building the bodies for both my dads and his mods. My dad also came down Saturday and worked on his car. The kids love having him here! We ordered in pizza and hung out! Saturday I did some shopping for our upcoming vacation and bought some supplies for my new desk and some stuff to organize the kids toys better. Sunday was spent catching up on laundry and working on my new office area downstairs. It was a great weekend, sad its over tho!
Next up we will be headed back to Disney for our annual family vacation, we can't wait!! Blake will be turning 6 in a couple weeks (crazy to think that he's already 6...), Kevin will be headed to Florida to race towards the end of January. The kids, myself and my dad are hoping to book our flights this week so we can sneak down for a long weekend as well.
Happy New Year! Can't believe its 2015 already!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)