Trip to California

We just got back from a weeklong trip to California to visit my dad (Grandpa). It was all 5 of us and we had a great time! The girls loved the plane ride and really did great. It worked out perfectly that we never had to wait long for our flights and we never had to rush either. We spent 2 days at DisneyLand, 1 day in San Diego at Sea World, 1 day at Aliso Beach Park, and 1 day shopping : ). The other 2 days were travel days. Here's some pics from our trip...

Our first day at Disney...the kids were in shock.



Olivia & Grandpa watching a parade



Mark clicking his heels...it must really be the happiest place on earth!



We loved Shamu!





...and giant teeth



My beautiful girls in front of Minnie Mouse's house



Mark & Cassie at the entrance to the parks



Tinkerbell!!!



Me & my Hannah



Our beauties

Sunday Stealing

1. You’re building your dream house. What’s the one thing that this house absolutely, positively MUST HAVE? (other than the obvious basics of course)
A huge pantry and linen closet. Oh and a butler's pantry!!! I've wanted one of those for a long time. I don't know why...they're just so cool. Plus it feels fancy.

2. What is your dream car?
I'm not a big car person...as long as it's nice, has all the convenient features I'd like and it's paid off, I'm good.

3. What is your favorite website that isn’t a blog?
Oh I don't know, maybe Amazon.com cause I like to shop?

4. iPhone 4 or Droid, which do you want?
I'm going with iPhone 4. I don't have a clue about either one but I hate the way they say "droid" on the Droid commercials...it's creepy to me. So they don't get my vote. : )

5. When you’re feeling down or lonely or just generally out of sorts, what do you do to cheer yourself up?
Ice cream always helps! But really, talk to my Mom or Mark, hug my girls...

6. Tell me about something or someone that you love that most people seem to hate.
Numbers...I can actually enjoy balancing my checkbook (as long as there's enough money in it!)

7. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A grandma! Of course I want to wait about 25 years for this! But I love the idea of spoiling grandbabies and then sending them back.

8. Would you go on a reality show if given the chance?
No way!

9. Who was your favorite teacher when you were growing up. (Grade school, Middle School, Jr. High or High School only.)
I loved Mrs. Browning for 10th grade English, Mrs. Boyle for all my drama classes, and Mrs. Smith for choir.

10. You get one pass to do something illegal or immoral. What are you gonna do?
No clue.

11. What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was 21, living near LSU with Melissa, Aimie & Amanda. Almost done with college. Just started seeing Mark. Fun being carefree!

12. By this time next year, I ...
don't know.

13. Do you think the United States will elect a female President in your lifetime? Do you think this would be a good thing?
If they're the right person for the job, sure.

14. Which fictional, TV show character you would shag anytime?
Already have my dream man!

15. What is your greatest pet peeve?
There's a McDonald's near our house that has a driveway in from 2 sides. It drives me insane when people want to cut in line at the drive thru instead of driving around the building and getting in line like the rest of us. I mean, it's okay if there's no line but when there is a line, get in it! I can get very territorial when someone tries to wedge their way between me and my caffeine fix for the day!

16. Tell me about your most recent trip of more than 100 miles?
We just got back from our first family vacation with all 5 of us. Went to California (south of L.A.) to visit my dad and take the kids to DisneyLand and Sea World. We flew and the kids loved the plane. It was exhausting but we all had a great time. I'll post pics later.

17. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
Dictionary

18. Do you have a nickname? What is it?
Mommy

19. What are you dreading at the moment?
Cassie's swimming lessons for the next 2 weeks. I don't dread the actual lessons, but they're WAY across town and I just don't like to drag all 3 kids across town for a 40 minute lesson. But I picked the place so I really can't complain. Cassie really liked it there last year.

20. Do you worry that others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
No

21. In two words, explain what ended your last relationship.
Wrong guy.

22. What were you doing this morning at 8am?
Sweating but trying to sleep...our A/C went out last night!!

23. Do you have any famous relatives?
No, but I have a relative with a famous name.

24. How many different beverages have you drank today?
Lots of cold drinks

25. What is something you are excited about?
Cassie starting Kindergarten in the fall

26. When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group?
Umm...I sang at church a few weeks ago. I speak monthly at our Mothers Of PreSschoolers group but it's not very large.

27. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
It's hot.

28. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Wondering what to do about the A/C and waiting on Mark to get home. He went out with some friends after work. He had fun and he deserved it!

29. What’s a word that you say a lot?
"No", "Sit down", "Be kind", some days I feel like a broken record. : )

30. Who is your worst enemy?
Ice cream, but he's also such a great friend!

K4 Graduation

Here's our little graduate with her very first diploma. I know she'll have a hundred more graduations before college but they're all going to be special. I'm sad that she'll be leaving Greenwell Springs Baptist ELC...we've LOVED it there. Their director, Jancie, is wonderful and she makes sure they have the best teachers, activities and learning fun. Hannah and Olivia will still be there for the next two years, so I'm not super sad since we'll still be around for a while. But Cassie is moving on to Kindergarten at Victory Academy. It's so funny because that's where I went to elementary school and some of the same staff are still there. I know she's going to love "big school" and look adorable in her uniforms. She can't wait for summer to be over so she can start school again.

We have babies!

Well, actually we have ducklings. More acurately a duck that lives in the lake behind our house had ducklings. She makes a nest in our yard at the edge of the water each year. This year she seemed late...maybe because it was cold longer this winter. But aren't the ducklings precious?! So cute and fluffy! They come up in the yard every now and then.

5 Years Old

Here's a look back over Cassie's 5 years and 6 birthdays...the time really does fly by faster than I could have imagined...I love you Cassie! Happy 5th Birthday!

2005


2006


2007


2008


2009


2010

Hello there...

I haven't blogged in a while and today is the perfect day for a blog. You see, I have laryngitis and can't talk out loud. It's driving me CRAZY but at least it's kinda forcing me to blog in a way.

I've decided that Mark can't go out of town without me anymore. Not because I'm possessive or jealous or anything. It's just the last time he went fishing with the men from our church, we all came down with a stomach bug and I had to ask him to come home early. Now this past weekend, Mark went to Florida to visit his sister, Shannon. He had a great time and I'm glad he was able to visit and get in some R&R on his own. But while he was gone I got pink eye and a cold. Fun. The pink eye's been circulating though our girls for a couple of weeks...I thought we'd finally gotten rid of it and then I got it. That was the day he left for FL. The next day I started feeling like a cold was coming on. You know that feeling? By the time Mark got home Monday evening, I was pooped and not feeling good at all. But I kept thinking it's just a cold, right? I had the flu a few weeks ago, so this is nothing. Then this morning I woke up and absolutely could not speak. No sound would come out of my mouth at all. It's been so frustrating, plus it hurts. (Yes, I'm whining...it's my blog and I'll whine if I want to!) : ) I called the doctor's office to make an appointment and it was comical trying to tell them my name and what I needed. Phone calls I've been waiting on have been returned today and I couldn't answer them. I had to write down my order at Smoothie King for lunch and hope they didn't think I was weird. I am feeling a bit better now that I've got 3 prescriptions in me after seeing the doctor. It's just killing me cause if you know me, you know I love to talk. Today is Cassie's 5th birthday and I can't even sing to her!! I whispered "Happy Birthday" to her his morning and I think she's secretly enjoying my lack of words today. She's been picking up the pace with bossing her sisters around. It's funny to see her try to act like me. Funny and humbling...I don't really sound like that, do I? : )

Yesterday I made cupcakes for Cassie's class today. I made them right before she got home from school and they were cooling on the counter. They were the little tiny ones that are like 1 bite. She & I ate a couple of them and then we had rest time. The babies were sleeping and I needed a nap with not feeling well, and Cassie was supposed to be watching a video in her room. When I got up, I went into the kitchen to ice the cupcakes and guess what...there was ONE stinking cupcake left in the pan. ONE! Out of 24! I found 16 wrappers hidden in her room. She didn't lie about it and I didn't feel good so I just didn't have the strength or heart to punish her more. I'm sure her tummy hurt at that point. Mark was so mad when I told him. But it was so funny. Here's my skinny minny 5 year old who won't eat most of what I cook but has polished off nearly a whole pan of mini cupcakes! I still can't believe she did that. Ha ha! So for punishment, she didn't get to bring anything to school for her birthday. That was a big deal because she'd been looking forward to that. But I certainly wasn't going back to the store to buy another mix and make more cupcakes. Not a chance! I'm going to make regular cupcakes for her birthday party this weekend. Apparently I'll have to hide them if I want them to make it to the party. But after yesterday and all the hoopla that surrounded her binge, I doubt she'll ever do that again. : )

Mark came home early from work today. I am so so so so glad about that. It's really hard to take care of kids without being able to speak. I'd never thought about that before. Actually I don't think I've ever lost my voice so completely before, so I've thought a lot today about how much I do appreciate my voice. Just being able to get my point across or get someone's attention. That might sound silly but I really am more grateful for that ability. Thank you Lord that my voice will come back in a couple of days!

More about Cassie's birthday to come... : )

California

As I type that title, in my head I'm singing the theme song from that TV show The OC.

We're going on a family vacation this year! Obviously to California. My dad lives there south of Los Angeles. We're going to visit him and do other fun stuff too. We're flying and staying in a nice family friendly hotel. My dad is letting us borrow his Durango while we're there so we won't have to rent a car. I'm so excited! I feel like a kid looking forward to it. I guess because it's our first REAL family vacation since the twins were born. And it's so fun to get the kids all excited about it.

We're gonna go to Disneyland, Sea World, the beach, and who knows where else. Yay!

Have a great weekend!