CoCo Key

Jason took the week off when Xander was on Spring Break, so we decided to take a little trip to an indoor water park about an hour from home. It was actually my idea, which means I must have really needed a getaway because I'm not a huge fan of water. They were offering a great deal though that included two full-days at the water park, an overnight stay in the lodge, t-shirts for the kids, two arcade passes and a board game to keep. The lodge was beautiful and I'd like to stay there again sometime whether I went to the waterpark or not.

The kids were super excited when we got there and couldn't wait to go to the pool. They had on their new "croco-dude" shirts my mom and step-dad brought them back from vacation.

Tried to get them on the waterslide at the same time, but it never worked very well.

All day long this giant bucket fills up with water and then dumps out all over. You get a warning, but if you're in line for a water slide there's no getting out in time.

Xan was too short to do this properly, but he was able to get across as I coached him through some creative maneuvering.

We really enjoyed the water park, especially in the evening when a lot of the people who were just there for the day had gone home. We took a rest, got pizza for an early dinner, then went back down for more fun before bed. In the morning we ate breakfast in our room, then headed down to be early in line so we could get a table and chairs for our beach towels.

The kids love arcade games so they were excited to earn tickets before we left.

Look at this girl pull the handle. Watch out Vegas!

After leaving the water park we went to lunch at Bob Evans. Better yet, the kids got to eat for free with the coupons they get every year for their birthday.

So glad we had a good time!

Weekend in Michigan

A few weeks ago we took a 4-day weekend to go see our friends in Michigan. Last July when we went to visit we stayed at Joe and Jen's house, but they just had their first baby and we brought the kids, so this time we spent three nights in a king room at a brand new Hampton. There was a golf center a few blocks from our hotel so one day we took the kids to play their first game of mini-golf. Jordis got a hole-in-one on the second hole. It was really hot and humid that day, but we had a fun time.

We also did a lot of eating. Joe and Jen have some friends who own a little cafe, and we had a great lunch there. I had a turkey sandwich that was made on cranberry bread with a homemade cranberry orange mayonnaise. It came with some wonderful homemade coleslaw. I went in there not very hungry and ended up eating my whole sandwich, coleslaw, Jason's coleslaw and a dill pickle or two. They also make homemade desserts and sent the kids home with some brownies. We also ate at Strawberry Fields which is a place Joe and Jen took us to for breakfast last year. I had some really good hasbrowns with bacon, peppers, onions and cheese, along with some strawberry soup. Great combination, huh?

One day, Joe took Jason and Xander out in their boat on Lake St. Clair, while Jen and I took Jordis shopping for a little girl time. She was so excited to sit next to the baby in the car. She gave him his pacifier if it fell out of his mouth, and she entertained him with his toys. We went to an outdoor mall and I bought Jordis an ice cream cone at the Nestle store.

I also let her pick out a special treat from the gourmet dog bakery to bring back home for Bubba. She thought he'd like a s'more.

Back at Joe and Jen's house the rest of us became chopped liver as Jordis spent the evening tending to the baby. She was all up in his business at diaper change, helped give him a bath, held him, fed him, and gave him a thumbs up when he seemed happy in his swing. She thought we should bring home one of these baby things for our house, until I told her the play room would turn into the office if that happened. She wasn't so sure after that.

On our last day we went swimming in the amazing heated hotel pool and then took the kids back to the outdoor mall for dinner at Max & Erma's. It was the nicest Max & Erma's we've ever been to, which is surprising since their corporate offices are here in Columbus. The kids were excited about their take-home cups and I gave them some coins for the fountain. It was a nice end to a great weekend.

July 4th

To celebrate Independence Day this year we went back to Tennessee for a long weekend. Jason's brother had four days off but the Army would only let him travel so far, so we decided to go to them instead. We took turns having girls day and guys day. My sister-in-law and I spent a really fun day together....clothes shopping, lunch, winery tour/tasting, more shopping and coffee.

The guys spent a day fishing. I have no idea why or how they had matching shirts.

The kids went fishing, too.

We all went out for a very hot and muggy evening of beautiful fireworks over the Cumberland River.

See the little faces in those windows? That's the jail. I guess if there's such a thing as having a prime cell, these people have it.

We dressed up the kids

There were lots of afternoons in the water with popsicles.

And in Tennessee it's legal to buy and set off your own fireworks, so we had our own fireworks show two nights in a row. Jason and Jeremy tried to pretend they bought the fireworks for the kids, but in the end we all knew that when they said kids they were referring to themselves. The pink smoke was for the little girls, though.

Of course on the way home we had to stop in Newport, Kentucky to eat dinner at Pompilio's. Yum, Italian!

Anniversary

Today is our 11th anniversary. Eleventh. Seems like it went by pretty fast. Luckily, our marriage is about the only thing left from our past. The place we met is gone, where we had our first date is gone, where we got engaged (kind of) is gone, place we got married....you guessed it....

GONE.

Check it out....

...apparently our waistlines are gone, too. Ha, ha!

Thanks to the babysitting efforts of my parents we are getting to go on a little trip for the weekend. We're going to go to Michigan to visit some friends and are quite excited for adult conversation and eating hot food when it comes to the table. It's the simple things, you know?

For your musical enjoyment while we're out of town, here's a little ditty I like to listen to once a year.

My amazing husband!

Jason got me the best gift EVER this Christmas.

"It's just a dress," you say. And if you've ever seen me in any clothing that shows my upper body you've probably already realized it's not even the most flattering dress for my figure.

But it's not the dress itself that's the actual present, it's how it came to be.

You see, whenever we go on vacation I have issues buying myself souvenirs. I always try to get us a Christmas ornament because we put up a "travel tree" at Christmas, but other than that I tend to feel that the vacation itself is the treat and I really probably shouldn't spend the extra money on something I don't "need." In fact, last year when we went to The Outer Banks my mom had to practically drag me to the register at closing the night before we had to leave. And even then I couldn't decide if I really wanted what I was buying. Jason, on the other hand, buys himself whatever he wants because we're on vacation and we should do it right. Then we get home and I'm sad because Jason has a bunch of cool stuff and I don't.

So this year I made a conscious effort to get something for myself. In New Orleans I got a book, a pretty photo holder for all my trip pictures, and a fabulous fleur di lis shirt.

See my shopping bag?

In Newport I got three new belly button rings. (Not that much to choose from in Newport folks). In Florida, I wanted this dress.

I saw it at Downtown Disney the first day we were there. We were on the way out and the kids were at their breaking point. I told myself I'd try to come back before we left Florida and if it was still there I'd try it on. That way I had all week to see what else I might find in the meantime.

I never found anything else, so when we went back to Downtown Disney the night before we left I was excited to try it on. They had a small and a medium, and they both fit. They were also both defective. One had a busted seam and the other had something else wrong with it. I was devastated. For once I picked a souvenir and I couldn't have it. I actually cried. Then I went and bought a few other things just for the sake of buying them (although I do like them).

Unbeknownst to me, Jason had taken a photo of the tag on the dress and after we got home he spent a bunch of time online trying to find me another one just like it. When it was ordered I was given strict instructions not to look at the labels on the package if it arrived when he wasn't available to get it off the porch. Interestingly enough he didn't even spoil the surprise by accidentally giving me some kind of hint.

So, it's not the dress itself that is the gift, but that he knew how much I wanted it and made the effort to find it for me.

And in case he doesn't realize how much I appreciate it (since I tend to nag remind him here and there about other things he does that I don't like, such as using colorful vocabulary around the children), here's a list of other reasons I think he's incredible...

1. He remembers the anniversary of our first date (including the day of the week), what we ordered to eat and what I was wearing.

2. He didn't laugh at me last week when I was in our closet trying on the outfit mentioned above (5 pounds equals a lot of inches when you're only 5'1").

3. He thought I was sexy when I was pregnant and let me think I didn't have any stretch marks until I discovered them after I could see the bottom of my stomach again.

4. He changes diapers without being asked, just because it needs done.

5. He cleans bathrooms and washes dishes.

6. When he works 3rd shift he calls me at midnight to say "Happy (Insert Birthday/Holiday Here)" so he can be the first person to say it on the actual day.

7. He stays home with the kids sometimes so I can get out by myself for awhile.

8. He sits on the couch and listens to me while I blather on about my latest disease-of-the-week.

9. He rubs my feet just because they're there.

10. He plays with the kids (I'm so bad at make believe).

11. He makes the best pancakes and chicken etouffee.

12. He secretly likes my hair long but will say his favorite style is whichever way is easiest for me to do.

13. He pretends to believe that it really takes an hour or more for my bathing routine when I'm sure he knows I just go really slow so I can be alone for awhile.

14. He didn't gloat when LSU beat Ohio State at the Sugar Bowl last January and still held my hand on Bourbon Street when I was wearing my bright red jersey (or maybe that was just a measure on his part to keep me safe?).

15. He likes this song by Brad Paisley that's all about it being worth it to wait on your woman.

Sittin' on a bench at West Town Mall
He sat down in his overalls and asked me
You waitin' on a woman
I nodded yeah and said how 'bout you
He said son since nineteen fifty-two I've been
Waitin' on a woman

When I picked her up for our first date
I told her I'd be there at eight
And she came down the stairs at eight-thirty
She said I'm sorry that I took so long
Didn't like a thing that I tried on
But let me tell you son she sure looked pretty
Yeah she'll take her time but I don't mind
Waitin' on a woman

He said the wedding took a year to plan
You talk about an anxious man, I was nervous
Waitin' on a woman
And then he nudged my arm like old men do
And said, I'll say this about the honeymoon, it was worth it
Waitin' on a woman

And I don't guess we've been anywhere
She hasn't made us late I swear
Sometimes she does it just 'cause she can do it
Boy it's just a fact of life
It'll be the same with your young wife
Might as well go on and get used to it
She'll take her time 'cause you don't mind
Waitin' on a woman

I've read somewhere statistics show
The man's always the first to go
And that makes sense 'cause I know she won't be ready
So when it finally comes my time
And I get to the other side
I'll find myself a bench, if they've got any
I hope she takes her time, 'cause I don't mind
Waitin' on a woman

Honey, take your time, cause I don't mind
Waitin' on a woman

Did I mention that he's amazing?

Epcot

On our 3rd day in Florida we decided to take the kids to Epcot. Our resort offered free shuttle service to and from the theme parks, which was great in theory for the sheer fact that it would save $12 in parking fees. However, in order to make sure you get on the shuttle you want to get there first, which means getting there early. And waiting. Then when you want to come back later the same applies. It's even worse when the shuttle is so full by the time it gets to you that it has to leave you there and drop people off before coming back to pick you up. It just doesn't work well with toddlers, which is why we gladly paid the $12 parking fee two days later when we went to the Magic Kingdom.

We were first for the shuttle, and dressed like this because it was supposed to be sunny and in the mid 70's. However, it never got over the 63 degrees it was when we left the resort, and the sun never came out either.

I'm a huge fan of Epcot and must say I was highly disappointed in what they've done to some of the classic rides over the years. But the kids didn't know any different so it was okay. I was glad they liked Figment, even though I had trouble getting a decent picture of him. And Xander was super excited to ride the big ball. Jordis wasn't big enough to ride the car racing ride, so Jason took Xander to do that while Jordis and I waited in line to meet Minnie Mouse. She did really good for the first 25 minutes. Then, as we rounded the bend towards the end of our wait she started this:


When there was only one group of people ahead of us she said, "Let's go now." I said no, which resulted in this:

She was deathly afraid of Pluto and wouldn't even walk past his line to see Minnie (who I must say was oddly small. I almost wanted to ask her if she was skipping school that day.) I had to chase her around and pick her up and carry her as she screamed, "No Mommy, no doggie!" at me. Which is why when we get to Minnie she looks like this:

After that we decided to head over to the countries, which is my favorite part. We were there during the food and wine festival, which is when there are more cities from around the world who set up shop with their local cuisine. We already knew that there was a Louisiana booth there, so we were quite excited. But first we stopped in Germany to get the kids some hot pretzels. I asked Jordis if she would give me a bite and she offered up a few granules of salt.


After the kids ate pretzels we found our booth and sampled some crawfish etouffee and bread pudding. It was so good. Then we got our free beads and the kids danced on the curb to some Cajun music.

It wouldn't be a day at Epcot without stopping in France for some dessert.

Jordis liked to meet the characters, but Alice was the only one she'd go up to by herself the whole week.


Next we went to the Nemo ride which was cute.


After the ride you can stay for Turtle Talk with Crush, which is really cool. Crush is the Turtle from the movie Finding Nemo and they have some computer generated program that makes it look like you're sitting in front of a tank and the turtle swims up and talks to all the kids. It's set up so that the turtle can pick kids out by their outfit and then he can actually have a conversation with them. Poor Xan actually wanted to participate, even raised his hand, and we felt so sorry for him because the one time he was interested he didn't get called on.

At this point we were cold and tired, so we headed back to our condo to eat dinner and put on warmer clothes. We drove to the Magic Kindgom and parked there (free after a certain time) so we could ride the monorail over to Epcot, as Xander had been fascinated by it all day.

We rode the boat ride in Mexico, did a tiny bit of shopping, then headed over near the lake to find a spot to watch the fireworks and laser show, stopping on the way for the kids to check out some drums.


I got a very expensive coffee drink from Morocco and it was so strong it just about made me sick, and wide awake to boot. The show was great, although the kids slept right through it. We thought for sure Xander would wake up with all the vibrating and very close fireworks, but these two were in little comas.

Epcot stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, but our shuttle driver says it stands for Every Person Comes Out Tired, to which we couldn't agree more.
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