Thanks Mister

I am so grateful for the man who got on our plane with the most HORRID, barking cough that I've heard this entire year... or perhaps two. It reminded me of how sick Hunter was when he had Whooping cough last winter. Every time you coughed, I jumped. As I was sleeping, I kept thinking the intercom was coming on with an announcement from the pilot. Well, I just wanted to say thank you kind sir. Your germs have infected my children, myself, and probably my hard-working husband too. I'm sure that many others are also thanking you from our plane and I'm wondering if the gentleman who realized you sat down only 5 rows behind him (and us) and then proceeded to move all his belongings and self to the back of the plane was able to avoid your generosity. I suppose I'll never know. Maybe a face mask (like Surgeons wear) would have made me feel a LITTLE better or perhaps, a little less accusatory. Thank you, and please keep your future "bronchitus" infections to yourself.

Disney World!

It was a dream come true for us - we went to Disney World for a week! It was a fabulous and unforgettable week. We went expecting Florida sunshine and perhaps a little sun on our cheeks for our return home - that was not the case. They had record setting lows and the crops were all freezing at night - not quite the warmth we had hoped for - but we survived. We had one day of rain - luckily we had brought rain gear and left it nice and dry in our hotel for the day we needed it. (hee hee) We did the Disney package deal - we arrived at the airport and we were shuttled around for the rest of the time by Disney transportation - no rental car, no gas pumps, and very short rides to each of the parks! Overall, it was pretty crowded - considering we had gotten a "discount price" to get people there in the "low season" - their marketing was obviously working.

So, I have to tell you about our Cinderella dinner. It was our favorite "character dining" experience of the week. I know - we have boys and why did we do a 'princess' thing?!? It didn't feel "girly" when we were there. It was really a treat to meet Cinderella and to eat in her castle. They called me "princess" and the boys were either a "Prince" or "Lord" - it was so fun! They gave the boys swords (little girls get a magic wand) and it was an amazing place to be at. You have to get a good laugh when looking at this picture - that's our Cole. He had just hurt his thumb (if he wasn't falling to hurt his head - there was usually another injury to complain about!) and that picture says a thousand words about his attitude. WE LOVE this picture.

Here are some more pictures of our week - it was really a great experience to be just our little family for such a special week!


This is one ride that Hunter could not go on - next time he'll be tall enough. (I hope we get to go again before he graduates from high school!)

By the way - this is a true to life Lion - we were just driving by it in our "safari truck" - it was spectacular! He must be kept well-fed... there was NO FENCE to protect us. This was at the Animal Kingdom.
Hunter was tall enough to go on just about everything (I think there was 1 ride he couldn't go on). But, poor Cole - got shafted. There were quite a few rides that he could not go on. At Animal Kingdom - Cole BARELY made the cut-off for this ride - of course on a hot summer day - it would have been fabulous to get wet. So, we threw on the rain gear and covered ourselves the best we could because we had to ride it twice just because Cole was big enough!

Danny was a great traveler. He smiled and made friends with anyone who sat by us! I love this picture. Shayne is the one who always gives him "tastes" of things that mommy says "no!" So, Shayne decided to see if he'd like Hunter's sucker. Well - as you can see, he was loving it. Shayne didn't even have to hold it and that sucker was the size of his head!

Farewell Disney World! The place of magic and wonder continues everyday and we hope we can go again someday!

Brian's Wedding

My little (well, he's much much taller than the rest of our family now) and youngest brother got married in January. We went to Idaho Falls (again!) and had a weekend with my family - it was GREAT FUN! Here are some pics from the weekend.

January and basketball

BASKETBALL SEASON! I signed up both Hunter and Cole for Basketball through our rec center. Cole's was super cute with little activities geared towards 3-4 year olds. He kinda liked it... not quite as much as I expected. I still thought it was fun to watch him to play and pout!



Hunter is also playing basketball and it was been such a hoot to watch him play - he is LOVING it. At the very first game - he was trying to dribble the ball (they aren't real tough on these kids as Kindergarteners/1st Graders) while running down the court. I was impressed with his absolute determination to dribble that ball, even though he'll often forget he's trying to get closer to the basket! Another favorite is seeing all the kids run underneath the basket and just hold of their arms. They aren't thinking about defensive playing - they are just suppose to have their arms up for some reason! Here are some pics of him in action.