Seaworld Trip for New Year's Eve

Now that we have wrapped up our camping trip to the lake, a stay-cation in our home town, and a trip to Montana I thought it would be a good idea to finally finish this post about our trip to Seaworld (eight months ago). I've included some of the better pictures so everyone can see how the kids looked back at the end of December. I hope to do a better job keeping up with this blog (I'm sure you have all heard that before.

My family went to Seaworld with our great friends Jamie and Susan and their two girls. Susan was kind enough to travel in our van to help with my little M and he did great on the trip. Jamie occasionally filled his adrenaline needs with solo trips to the roller coasters leaving Susan and I with 5 kids ages 7, 6, 5, 3, and 2 - we joked that if people at the park took a good look at us they would think Susan and I had some sort of problem. It was so fun. Our little guy buddied up with Sue Sue (his name for her), Jamie hung with his youngest daughter, the two older girls were inseparable for much of the trip leaving me and my middle M to get some good quality time together that I will treasure. The highlights of the trip were the Shamu show (you should see my little M do his hands like an orca tail - so cute), feeding the dolphins (a family tradition), the pirate themed playground, the "Journey to Atlantis" ride (the big kids first real amusement park ride), and of course temps in the 70's when it was much colder back home. A personal highlight was having adjoining rooms with our friends so that the kids could go to sleep in one room while the adults visited and watched meaningless bowl games in the other. That was a ton more fun than going to bed at 8:30 each night! We just beat a cold north wind that showed up on our drive back so we couldn't have planned things any better. Tons of thanks go to Jamie and especially Susan for making this trip possible - it would not have happened for me and the kids without their help and flexiblity.

P.S. I did buy the season passes so there is an outside shot that we will do it again before next New Year's.

Orange it is!

I let our big guy pick his own color for the cast. I thought for a while it would be red but orange won the day. His Uncle Mike and Aunt Nikki are so proud! Earlier in the day, our friend Susan advised me to let him pick any color but one...if you know Susan very well (and even if you don't), you can guess which color that was.

The last picture was taken right before he went to "bed" in one of our Lay-Z-Boys. I think he was trying to approximate the amount of stuff he normally crams into the lower bunk in his room. For now, we have two people sleeping in the living room. I hope his snoring doesn't wake me up tonight.

P.S. Due to some quick work by Aunt Nikki, we were able to get his leg casted on Friday afternoon instead of waiting until Monday. I'm very thankful for having that done before the weekend. In a few weeks we may move to a shorter cast that will also allow him to take baths. Our whole house will be thankful for that!

Tough "Break" on Valentine's Day

Our friends Jamie and Susan (and girls) decided to take us out for "Valentime's" day. After discussing our options at length we decided there would be nothing more cupid-like than a trip to the local roller skating rink (you know couples skate in the opposite direction time). Our littlest one got the most attention of the night from the pre-teen set - I think it was the Thomas the Train helmet and knee pads combined with the chubby cheeks and sweet smile.

About an hour into our skating, our middle child fell and started screaming. We took all our skates off and our friend Mr. Mike took us to the nearest ER in his big red truck while our friend Ms. Adrianne (Mike's wife) headed home in our white minivan with the other two kids for bed time. At the time, I had a pretty good idea that he had broken his leg but expected a lot of bruising and swelling if there was a break. The outside of his leg looked fine so that just shows that accountants don't know much about broken legs.

After a short wait in the ER waiting room, our big boy was placed in a bed with a warm blanket which helped. He was also given a small liquid dose of Motrin (the kind you give for a fever) - it didn't help. He was in a lot of pain everytime his leg moved - especially during the X-rays - but he was very tough and generally kept all the nurses, doctors, and technicians entertained (especially after a shot of morphine). The highlight of the ER visit was 4 big stickers for his shirt - he actually claimed is was the shot of morphine which confused Mike and I.

It was a late night but finally got him into his bed after 11 PM with a temporary splint to keep him from moving it too much. I'm most sad about the upcoming soccer season. I hope that by the end of the season, he can get back out there but it will be hard to sit on the sidelines and watch the other kids play (especially when you are a goal scoring machine...). Hopefully I can post a cool picture of his cast (I'm hoping for green) by next week.

Daddy/Daughter Ball

A few weeks ago, my daughter and I participated in a Daddy/Daughter Ball at my work. We went with another "couple" that goes to church with us (the daddy also works at the same company). We started the evening at our house with some pictures (see the best one above) and then headed off to one of the buildings in our office complex.

When we first arrived we received our table assignment (#9) and had some time to take more pictures and mingle with the other attendees. Our carriage ride was scheduled right before dinner began so we cuddled under some blankets and enjoyed a ride around my company's parking lot being led by a beautiful black clydesdale (if you have seen the place I work you would know that the view was a lot better than you might imagine). As we passed over the bubbling brook that flows through our building complex, the local ducks cooperated nicely by splashing in the water for us to enjoy.

By the time our ride was over, dinner had begun. We slid into our seats and met the other guests at our table (the next oldest girl at our table was 4 so conversation was strained at times).

Dinner was excellent. The menu follows:

Mixed Green Salad with Ranch Dressing and Rolls

Herbed Grilled Chicken

Seasoned Green Beans

Homestyle Mac-n-Cheese (there were little girls at the ball after all)

Strawberry Shortcake with Whipped Cream AND Chocolate Indulgence Cake (there were grown men at the ball after all)

We ended the night with dancing and more pictures. Our big girl spent most of her evening dancing with a friend that she met at the party (she makes best friends so easily). The other young lady was 6 days older than my date and a couple of inches taller (which is rare to find a girl or boy her age that is taller). I'm not sure who led.

I did squeeze in a few dances with my girl and even saw a picture posted on our company intranet to prove it (and to provide plenty of "That's so sweet..." and "What were you trying to do with your arms up in the air...is that supposed to be dancing?" comments from my co-workers).

It was a successful night and I owe a big thank you to the people at work that put on this great event and my friend Laura who watched the boys while her oldest daughter and husband Sean took us on our "double date". It will always be a special memory.

After and Before

What better way to start a new blog than "baby" pictures? Well, our little guy isn't really a baby anymore now that he has turned 2 years old but he still seems like a baby at times. He even claims to be a baby if you ask him - "I baby". I then ask him questions about things a baby can and can't do and he always tells me that babies can do everything - walk, talk, dance, etc. Maybe it is time to retire the baby crib and put him in a big boy bed?

These pictures are a few months apart. The after picture is from his recent birthday party last Saturday night. I chose this picture so you could see the back of his head to get a good look at his hair "style". By style I mean what ever way it falls after I dry it off with the towel after bath time. The before picture is from his very first hair cut which was in September or October of last year (yes, I saved a few curls in a baggie). He has had 3 hair cuts so far. The first one was just a trim to cut back on some of the "she's so pretty" compliments I kept getting about him. The second cut left him with a mini-mullet. I think the 3rd time was the charm - he looks so cute!