Signs of Spring

As soon as we returned from Florida, I was so ready for Spring. It has actually been sunny and pretty warm the past week. I have been outside as much as possible. I really like running outside again. I have already put quite a few miles on outside. My half marathon is coming up quickly - April 24!!!! I am excited to be running with my brother. He and I actually ran a 10 mile run together last weekend.

The girls and I have gone for walks, bike rides, played with chalk, had a picnic (on the driveway because the grass is so wet still), blew bubbles, and started picking up after Zoe - EWWWW, I forget that bad part. The girls were so disgusted :)

Blake had a rough week this week so far. He took a hard spill on the payground and hit his head. The school had me come to get him because they thought he was acting funny - NOPE, that is just him... He also fell out of the school bus and started crying on his way home one day. I think that he was just sooo embarrassed. He also lost another tooth this morning. It is his tooth next to the top front ones. I am hoping that when the new one comes in, it might help straighten the front two. Every time I see his front teeth I just WANT them straight. Maybe he is just growing. He is already quickly catching up to me. I think that he is going to be very tall!!!!!

I hosted a Premier Jewelry show this week as well. I had a great turn out and got lots of goodies. I think that all the neighbors were ready to come out of captivity. Everyone showed up. Madison was so looking forward to the party. She put on a dress and her pearls. She was so cute. She tried on several peices and wanted me to buy them all. I did get her a couple pieces that were so cute. She also is begging to get her ears pierced. I told her that our family doesn't do that. She of course wants to be the odd one and STILL get it done. I sure hope that I can hold her off for a long time if not FOREVER!!!!

On a very sad note, a great friend of mine just found out that her mother has pancreatic cancer. Please keep her family in your prayers. I haven't been able to get them off my mind. Life is just too short. It has made me actually call and get a much needed doctor appointment.

Brett is off to Atlanta and the kids and I are preparing for a very low key weekend. We have been so busy lately!!!! Maybe we will even get to enjoy the weather.

Gator...Gators and more Gators

My kids loved Gatorland. Actually, Brett and I really enjoyed it as well. Maybe it was just the nice change from all the craziness at the Disney parks.

If I didn't mention earlier about all the planning that I did for this trip, I had a very detailed itinerary for the trip including specific days (based on research) to go to which parks, character lunches planned and very little time for a sick child.

Blake woke me up in the middle of the night with a horrible stomach flu. Lets just say that we will probably be charged with a carpet cleaning bill from our rental house. I felt so bad for him.

Our following day was Gatorland and there was NO switching days around!!!!! He was so looking forward to it. We decided that it would be up to him if we actually go. He was begging to go, so we thought we could let him lay low during the morning and then give it a shot. He was very lethargic, pale and didn't eat or drink a thing all morning. Of course I was worried to death. I gave Blake a bowl for the journey. The last thing we needed was a cleaning bill from the rental car company as well. He made it fine UNTIL we got out of the car. I again asked if we should still go. He said that he felt fine.

As soon as we got there, we went right to a "Gator Jumping" show. Blake made his way right to the front where all these kids were and sat down. I was so nervous for him. He of course made friends with all the kids and was giving all the facts about gators. I didn't even watch the show because I had my eyes on Blake hoping that he would feel OK and not get sick on any kids!!!!!

He made it through the whole day.

The kids held a HUGE snake - I stayed as far away as possible, fed hot dogs to gators, wrestled gators, and had a great time walking around and seeing the most gators that I have ever seen in my whole life. I highly recommend Gatorland.

Brett and Blake have a similar picture of them holding a tiger cub when Blake was about 2 years old. Brett has the picture in his office at work. They wanted to do another one to add to their display. Super CUTE!!!!
Like Father, Like Son. These two loved reading as many facts, storys and information as possible. The girls and I just strolled along.


Madison got chosen out of the audience to come up and help during gator wrestling. I think it was because she was the cutest little girl there!!!! She walked right up front with this man - of course with a huge smile on her face!!!!

She was able to choose which alligator he would wrestle. After quite a while of looking at them, she chose a big one - that's my girl!!!!

He then told her to jump in and pull it out by it's tail, for a second my heart sank... Madison just might do it. She isn't afraid of much. She just looked at the guy with this weird face and he said, "Just kiddng, don't really do it". She later told me that she just didn't want to get wet - OR maybe she would have?????

This is the gator that Madison chose and he actually wrestled it out of the water right in front of us.

Madison playing a little shy now.

This salt water croc scared us to DEATH!!!! When we walked up, it was underwater. Brett decided to throw it a hot dog (Yes, that was legal - we bought hot dogs to feed them). The hot dog bounced off of it's snout and we thought nothing would happen until all of a sudden, it made the fastest junp out of the water and we heard teeth snap right in front of us. We were standing just right behind this little fence!!!!! It was a HUGE croc. After the initial scare, the kids loved it and wanted Brett to do it again.
Madison was so impresssed by this talking bird.

We had so much fun and would definitely return again. We ended our day at the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. Poor Blake just drank a little water. Our kids just loved animals!!!!!!!

A Magical Trip

Madison's 6th Birthday party. One that she will never forget!!!!!!
The girls were amazed at the size of Cinderella's castle.

Madison loved all the attention on her birthday. The Princess lunch was great!

We are home... Nine nights away from home. It was great to sleep in our own beds last night. I just downloaded pics and they are amazing. We had a great time. The kids were better than we imagined and we will never forget Disney 2010!!!!

Our trip had a rough start. We headed out to In-laws Tuesday night to stay the night and catch a 8 am flight out of Detroit. About an hour into the drive, I mentioned something about the stroller (in which I bought specifically for the trip- a sit and stand for the girls) Brett said that he forgot it. He teases me all the time. Then I realized that he wasn't kidding, so we turned around and made our 2 hour trip into a 4 hour trip. The kids were tired and cranky. It wasn't a very good sign for us. We finally made it.

Our flight went great. Caitlin had a little trouble with her ears and started crying out in pain as we landed. My heart hurts for that poor girl. It seems like she has the worst luck with sickness.

Luggage, rental truck, house and then T-Rex cafe. The restaurant was great. I strongly recommend it to anyone.

I will post more about the trip on a later date, I have tons to do right now with being gone for 9 days. We had great weather and an amazing time!!!!

Rock Star!!!

I sometimes feel real bad that I don't have nearly as many pictures of Blake as the girls, but he isn't very cooperative in front of the camera. I have a hard time catching him not with a big, cheesy smile, or holding still long enough. Right before the SuperBowl party on Sunday, I had about 3 minutes of his attention and got some great pics.
We are visiting the orthodontist this summer!!!!!
I love this one!

Blake has been begging to play the guitar. I posted an add on Craigslist to have someone come into the house to teach him. After sorting through TONS of responses, I found a college students who has been great with Blake. He takes a 45 minute private lesson once a week. This week, he got to play the electric guitar. He asked me if he could get one right after the lesson. He actually practices and is pretty good.

Fun on the Slopes

Madison getting her ski on.
Madison's first time up the tow rope!
Blake's first time up the tow rope.
Back in the Good Ol' days, Brett and I loved going snowboarding. We actually "met" on a ski trip to Steamboat. Yes, we knew of each other for many years, but hung out A LOT during that trip. We have always wanted to do family ski trips, so this year I was determined to get the kids on skis.

Blake took one lesson two years ago, but this would be their first real experience. I signed them up for a three week long session at Timber Ridge. They were so excited.

The first night they were going up the tow rope. Kids are amazing at things like that. They just fall and get back up and do it again. While I was standing there watching them, I couldn't wait to strap on a board and try out my LONG LOST skills. I think it has been about 6 years since I last did it. Being a little older and more fragile, I must say that I will be a little nervous the first time...

Blake and Madison were in different classes, but on the same hill. They were totally watching out for each other and even talking with each other as much as possible. It is so nice to see your children really care for each other. Blake even helped Madison up at one time :)

The second lesson, I let the kids stay skiing until about 8:00. They said that this was the best night ever. The weather was perfect.

The third lesson was a little more tricky. It was during the huge snow storm and Caitlin was still not feeling well. I told myself that afternoon that we wouldn't be going. Between the snow and Caitlin, I thought that it would be better to just skip it. Then the GUILT set in. Five minutes before we should be leaving to meet Blake at the bus stop, I told Madison that we were going. I haven't seen her move so fast ever. She got herself all dressed and into the truck. Caitlin was still in her jammies under her snow suit.

The bus was 10 minutes late because of the snow - Blake was ready to go! As I was driving (very slow) I looked back and saw poor Caitlin with the most pitiful look on her face. She was miserable. My heart felt so bad for her. She perked up a little when we got there because she never saw the ski hill before. I had to carry her and LOTS of the kids ski stuff. We made it right on time and I sent the two off. Caitlin and I went in the lodge to watch them. She sat on my lap with her night-night (blanket) the whole time. She looked pathetic. I got a lot of looks. I'm sure that people thought that I was a horrible mother with my sick and coughing girl there. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I was happy to get back home that night.

Because there was so much fresh powder, the instructors built a jump for the kids. Guess who wasn't afraid at all ----- MADISON. That girl kept going over the jump with a huge smile on her face. Blake was practicing his turning. The week before, he would just go straight down the hill as fast as he could and hockey stop at the bottom. He was making me very nervous. So I was very happy to see him in more control.

Thankfully a snow day today!!!!! The kids slept in (7AM) and are excited about playing in the snow today.

Fairy Princess

Caitlin was invited to a birthday party just for her. This is the first time that she was the only special girl in our family. She has seen the other two go by themselves to birthday parties and now it was finally her chance.

It was at the cutest little girly place called "Sugar and Spice". This store was so frilly and pink. The girls were given tutu's and fairy wings. They quickly got a make-over. There isn't much sweeter things in life than 4 little girls all dressed up. They also did a fashion show for us, decorated cupcakes and made their own lotion. Caitlin loved her lotion bottle so much. They got to pick out colors and sparkles to fill up their container. It was definitely something that Caitlin will be talking about for a long time. Thanks for the invite Aspen!!!!! Happy Birthday:)

She wants to do her birthday party there!!!!!!
Getting her make-over
Beautiful nails - she especially loved the glitter!

Checking herself out...
Great friends inspecting one another

Caitlin chose the pink frosting and dinosaur sprinkles. Blake is rubbing off on her!!!
Making their lotion. The lotion was a huge hit. Caitlin was so excited to show Madison when we got home. They both came down from upstairs with it in their hair. Madison told me that she thought it was hair gel.

All Grown UP

I have been a little sad lately about my kids being all grown up now. Why do they have to grow up so fast????? I would love to freeze my little Caitlin. She is absolutely the sweetest little thing right now.


Madison and Caitlin wore these cute little matching dresses to church. The funny thing about it is that my sister and I bought these dresses for my neice and Madison when they were little. Madison was two when she wore the little dress. Check out how cute she was. I actually cried when I saw how little she was and it seems like just yesterday when she was that young. I guess I need to just enjoy them a little more everyday because time passes by so quickly.

Madison at almost two wearing the little dress that Caitlin is wearing above!!!! She was a tough cookie very early on.

Here is my sweet little Blake at the same time as Madison up above. They were so little - I kinda miss those days. But, BOY was I busy then. I was also pregnant for Caitlin at this same time.
Blake at 3 years old!!!!! Notice how I don't have any ornaments at the bottom of my tree. With an almost two year old, a three year old and being pregnant, I guess I didn't have the energy to keep telling them NO.