Here's Jacky boy. Sweet & wonderful.

Jack and George.

George, Jack and Vanilla -separated, of course from the "Evil Pony" as Eric calls her.

Who doesn't love before and after pictures?!

BEFORE

AFTER!

It's absolutely amazing how much of a difference these new floors make on the kitchen/entry area. Who puts carpet in a kitchen, anyway?!

Some Disney photos may be trickling in from other's cameras, so I'll be posting an occasional photo when I get them.

Here is Ally with one of the performers from High School Musical 3. These singers and dancers ride on a big hayrack/flatbed type of vehicle while they perform songs from HSM. Once they reach their destination, they jump off and continue to sing and dance on a stage. Fortunately for us, we were there fairly early, waiting for them to arrive. We got to sit in the front, which is basically just a crowd of people, no seats or anything. There are Disney employees who are guiding people around, making sure no one gets a) run over by the performing flatbed b) trampled by over-zealous HSM fans and c) a crazy idea to storm Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. Nooooooo, it was not really Zac and Vanessa. I told Ally before they arrived that it wouldn't be the real "Troy" and "Gabriella". Ally said she knew that because they probably couldn't afford them. Haaaaaaa.......

While we sat and watched, this girl kept looking at Ally. She must have been trying to make her day, knowing she was a fan. Good call to wear that jacket, eh?! So, it was no surprise when they announced the performers would be coming into the crowd to pick out some kids to dance with, that she picked Al. The bonus was that someone also grabbed Lainey (Ally's cousin). They both got to dance with the performers!! Yay!!

RANDOM THOUGHTS.........(not to be confused with DEEP thoughts! :)

So the Vikings lost. It was heartbreaking. I was sad and disappointed, mostly for Brett Favre. The silver lining was that the team to beat them was the Saints. They deserve a Superbowl trip. I hope they beat the crap out of the Colts.
*Notice the silver lining reference? My New Year's resolution is to be more positive. So far, I'm doing a pretty shitty job. SOOOOO, that means there's room for improvement! See how that works?!

What is up with my body thinking that I'm freezing to death?! Every winter for the past 3 years, I've gained at least 5 pounds. I swear my internal thermostat is in panic mode, thinking I'm sitting on the side of a mountain in -5 degree weather, waiting for a rescue party. I'm NOT freezing to death!! I am always cold, wearing around my slippers, sweatshirts/sweaters and a cup of hot tea in my hands -but nearing hypothermia? No.

I've been a research maniac lately, looking for great last-minute recipes. Love the crockpot, but I'm also needing meals that I can whip up in less than 25 minutes. I'm enjoying these last few weeks before the shit hits the fan. Right now, Max has basketball practice on Friday nights, which is easy for me since Dad's the coach and I don't have to load up everyone to get him there. Starting in February, we'll have Bullets baseball Tues., Wed. and Thurs. We'll also have Jay's guitar lessons either Wed. or Thurs. Ally wants to start piano, so I'm currently working on a time machine in the basement in my spare time. Who couldn't use an extra day or even a couple hours in their week?!
*I was discussing piano lessons with Ally and Jay in the car the other day. I asked her if she would want ME to teach her piano...at least to get her started to see if she likes it. Both kids seemed completely shocked that I knew piano. I explained that I took piano lessons for many years when I was in elementary/middle school. Jay's response was this, "So, you got any other dark secrets you want to share?!" :)

We have a new member of the family! His name is Jack and he is about 1200 pounds with brown hair and calm personality. Yes, it's a new horse. We were told someone had a great horse for us and he was sorrel in color, with a history in barrel racing. Turns out, he wasn't sorrel in color, but chestnut with a white diamond on his forehead.....which makes him look exactly like.....Cody. It's a little eerie. We got him last Saturday contingent on the vet's ok and a couple opportunities to ride him. We rode him and he is very calm and sweet. The vet said he looks good and will be nearly perfect with a good hoof trim and ear cleaning. He and George are fast friends and inseparable. He won't replace Cody and although he looks almost identical to him, he is a different horse who will undoubtedly make his own mark on our hearts. I quietly told him to be gentle with us - we've had our hearts broken by another chestnut horse and we can't take it again. He quietly told me he'd be careful with himself and planned to stick around for a long time....then he kicked the shit out of the wall during the night. Ha ha ha..he was only letting George know he was alpha. Silly horses.
*They'll be pictures to come soon, I'm sure.

So, it's 6:30 on Sunday night. I'm sooooo nervous for the game. I want the Vikings to win soooo bad. My favorite player on my favorite team - it just doesn't get any better than that. The catch? I like the Saints. That city has been through so much. But, I will route for the Vikings and probably cry if they lose. (You think I'm kidding.......) I love you Minnesota Vikings - you can SOOOO do this!!!!! Brett Favre, you rock and you brought this team farther than anyone. Please teach Tarvaris if you decide to go.................

POOOOOOOR VIVIAN!!


I was making a noise she didn't like. By the looks of it, you'd think I was morphing into satan himself.

Even MORE photos!!

The 3D movie/show Mickey's Phantasmic. At one point, Ally became obsessed with reading the Disney park maps. She got very good. This was one of those times.

Ally and Baloo from "The Jungle Book"

Beast, Jaxon, Lainey, Belle and Ally.

Vivian LOVED the Pluto characters.

MORE DISNEY PHOTOS!!




Even in a hotel room at Disney, Jay can find room to build Legos. Yes, we did our research before going, looking for a Lego store.

Ariel was a statue next to the pool. Viv was happy to explore.

The pool was heated, so the kids were absolutely interested in swimming. Although the sun was out, it was still very cold. They didn't care until it was time to get out.

Breakfast with the Disney Princesses was in the Cinderella castle. All of the princesses showed up. We tried to coax the boys out of their booth to take a picture with Jasmine. Finally, she had to go to them. The were all in to it, as you can see.........

We just got back from Disney!! My MIL and FIL took our family plus Eric's brother's family to DisneyWorld this past week. I gotta be honest, I was nervous about taking a good, but regimented, 9 month old on this type of vacation. By the middle of the week, I was able to relax a little. Vivian was really, really good and the kids had a BLAST!!!! How could you not? I'm hoping to get more photos from everyone else's cameras and post them. Until then, I will start with the unfortunate, but non-deterring hiccups....every vacation has them, am I right??

1. Some mild GI issues for a couple of people in our party.

2. Jay collided with the hotel....yes, I mean the building. He spent the rest of the week with a scrape over his eye as the swelling went down and the bruising colored his face yellow.

3. Even though I told the boys twice to pack trunks, they both forgot them. I distinctly remember it, because I also said I wasn't sure they could use them, but bring them anyway. (It was in the 20's when we got to Orlando!)

4. Jay made friends with the ice bucket on night 4. He only blew chunks the one time, but felt pretty crummy for the next 12 or so hours. We thought the fact that he rode the Mt. Everest ride 6 times in a row had something to do with it, but turns out it was a bug-maybe even the one that caused issue earlier in the week.

5. NOT to be outdone by Jay, Vivian had her own explosion, only out the other end. My MIL and I basically bathed her with baby wipes in a restaurant bathroom. Let's just say my first order of business on arriving home was to soak certain clothes.......







We had dinner one night at a restaurant in a ginormous log resort. I thought our waitress was from the Ed Debevic's school of waitressing. Turns out, I think she was just that way- a refreshing smartass. Loved her. At one point, Ally asked for some ketchup. We hear her turn around and yell, "ANYONE GOT SOME KETCHUP?!" About 5 people from a table nearby come bearing 5 bottles of ketchup. It was hysterical. Then, when the next person wanted ketchup, we got to return the favor. The kids got a kick out of that.

As you can see in the photo, Al was upset. Dad and Jay were in the car next to us, and Dad told Ally we sucked cuz they got in front of us. The combination of sleep deprivation and a sugar crash had something to do with the mood she was in for the next 25 minutes.

Jay loves anything military and was excited to visit Germany at Epcot. We had fun in Japan, Norway and only after we left Mexico did we notice that Jay was missing. I run back through South America and Europe and find Jay standing in the middle of the walkway right outside a Norwegian huset. His eyes were red and he looked like a lost puppy....as opposed to a lost child??? Anyway, we were reunited and grateful. It was difficult to keep tabs on 6 kids ages 3 to 11. We thought we did okay only losing one in 7 days.

The gift shop outside the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride proved nearly fatal for Eric as Vivian branded a deadly plastic knife. Although I enjoyed looking at 10 versions of Johnny Depp, Viv was less than impressed. She seemed to really like looking around, but was mostly "wowed" by the characters Donald Duck and Pluto.

I'm not even sure what building this is behind me, but the fact that it was sunny and I didn't have a hat, gloves and down vest on was worth a picture. Yes, we were disappointed in the weather. We were hoping for mid to upper 60's, secretly pining for low 70's. We got....brrrrr. It was in the 30's until Monday, then slowly warmed up to the low 70's by the time we left. ARGH! Oh well, it was still loads of fun.

Ally got an autograph book and hit up at least 15 characters. I'm hoping to get the photos from my SIL and MIL of Ally dancing with the "High School Musical 3" group. They performed several songs from the movie in the middle of the park. As we sat and watched, one of the performers came and grabbed Al to go out and dance with her. I know her adorable face probably lured the performer in, but what put her over the edge was the HSM coat Al wore almost every day we were there. I had 2 people ask me where I got it. They were disappointed to hear, "Target in Columbus, Ohio".

Look closely at this picture..........do you see it? Jay was really mad at Al. That wasn't a silly stick-your-tongue-out-face. That was a I-wish-I-could-really-shoot-daggers-out-of-my-eyes-face. The kids got along ok for the most part, but at this particular moment, there was definitely tension (times 10).

I feel like we have experienced a rite of passage going to Disney. The kids were at perfect ages. They were tall enough to ride any ride they wanted and will, hopefully, remember it. We decided we would go again when Vivian is old enough to experience it, too. It's definitely true that Disney is for people of any age. My favorite ride? The Rockin Rollercoaster, followed by the Tower of Terror :)

Watch for more pictures....there has to be hundreds of them between the three families and all the cameras.

*No, I will not post hundreds of Disney pictures, but there are more out there that will be fun to see. The best part? You are not sitting in my living room, watching slides of our vacation. You can choose to look away at any point. You also don't have to pretend to be enjoying the display. It's a win-win.

One of the things on my nephew, Kyu's, wish list was a foam sword. His wish was my command.

Of course his Mom and Dad knew what it would be used for and delighted in it. Actually, we all delighted in it :)




Uncle Nick got Max Underarmour gear. Would you believe this kid goes through these wrist/head/arm bands like underwear? Ok, I guess that's not so impressive when you realize #1 - I throw them away if I've asked him to pick them up more than 5 times in a 6 week period and #2- Max doesn't actually go through underwear all that fast ( a funny story for another post)

It was a hard year for Meleah, Chris and my I and our pets. Chris and Crissy lost their dear Bella in August. We lost Cody in October and Meleah and Dave lost Clyde (dude) in November. Mom made us ornaments as tributes to our beloved pets.

Everyone enjoyed their gifts and spending time together. Eric ordered me a Vikings Favre jersey and although I was perturbed that he got me something when we weren't exchanging with each other, I was THRILLED to have it! I wear it all the time :)

The other gift I received was from Chris & Crissy. They donated money to the humane society in Cody's name. They said someone did that for them when Bella died and they thought it was a thoughtful gift. I wholeheartedly agree!! I love it.

Now we are re-organizing our stuff and re-packing for Florida. We leave for Disney on Friday and are super excited. We are hoping for some warmer weather and dry skies. Seeing as how it is now 3 degrees here and 12 feet of snow, I think we'll be in luck.

Jay got the DSi that was all he talked about for months.

It's amazing how -the older the kid boys get, the smaller the gifts are in size......not so much in price.

Al loved her Horseland pj's, but also was very excited to get all the Lego sets she asked for. The ones with horses in them, so she can play with Jay.

Viv liked opening gifts, only to eat the paper. Still, it was fun to watch her among the boxes and mess.

First snow of the season and from it, a dirty snowman....not "dirty", but leafy. Better.

Viv's first experience with snow and she loved it. Here, she's making a snow angel - or at least that's what Jay said she was doing when he laid her in it.

No, it was not yellow, just cold.

Happy to be outside!!!