These are the days...

Our New Dog.......

You gonna love this story! LOL! 

So, we set off for our daily walk around the neighborhood and about 6 houses down, we came upon a set of trash cans. As we passed the trash cans, this sweet dog was just sitting there looking up at us! 

Well, being the Dumpster Diver crafty, thrifty gal that I am, we walked up and rang the doorbell. The entire family came to the door and Sarah and Ryan asked if we could have this adorable little guy! The Mom almost burst into tears (not really ~ but she WAS so happy) that we would be willing to adopt "Teddy"! So, after our walk, we drove back to take our new buddy home! Let me tell you, Teddy is very loved! That night he had a bath, was dressed up like Cinderella, given hats,sunglasses, food and lots of hugs! Here are some pics of our new dog, Teddy! LOL!

 

 

 

 

 

        

As silly as this story is.....we have TWO very happy kids right now! Sarah has always been afraid of dogs ~ so Teddy is the PERFECT 1st puppy! =)

God Bless You!

It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us Freedom of Press.

It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us Freedom of Speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the Freedom to Demonstrate.

It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag that allows the protester to burn the flag.

I am forever grateful for those that have given their lives so I can live FREE! Thank you and God Bless you! You will never be forgotten!

The Little Things......

"Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." Nathaniel Hawthorne 

And, that's just what I've been trying to do these days. I have really been trying to sit down and notice all of the incredible things around me. And, that's a very hard thing for this TypeA/"want it done yesterday" personality!!

 It's hard to believe that my "baby" is almost finished with kindergarten! Where did the time go? I know we all notice how life seems to move quicker and quicker and time can be fleeting. One of the biggest blessings for our family this past year has been the gift of time. While things still move at warp speed, we seem to take more time to notice the little things that happen. I am really hoping to make one of THESE lovely books and have been taking pictures to hopefully fill it one day. The great thing about digital photography is that you can take thousands of pictures, make them color or black and white (which I LOVE) and then save them all on your computer. I am also hoping to start organizing my photos a little bit better. I've been looking into a NEW WAY to take photos and categorize them on my computer. And, you guessed it..........this all takes TIME!! So, I hope that I can squeak out some time for this organization so it will help me have MORE time for what matters most. :o) So, here are a few things that have brought happiness, giggles, and lots of good times recently:

1) 

Sarah lost her second tooth and wasn't afraid this time! 

2) I was shopping in the grocery store the other day with Ryan. I happened to be buying razors  and this sweet woman came up and said "Would you like a coupon for an entire free pack of razors?". You know, there would have been a time when I might have thought this strange ~ wondering if she wanted something more or was trying to "sell" me something. But, instead, I just smiled and said "absolutely!" and thanked her for the kind gesture. She waved at Ryan and walked off. I instantly was reminded of this movie .

And, that's just what I'm going to do! =)

3)

SPONGE ROLLERS!!!!!! I remember having my hair put into these and how excited I was to wake up and see the curl............ Gotta love them! 

4)

 The fact that SUMMER is almost here!!!!!!!!!

5)

The hilarious "Hide and Seek" game that Ryan and I play when It's time to change his diaper! 

6)

Teasing my daughter that she's going into the marina if she doesn't sit down and EAT HER LUNCH!! LOL!! 

7)

Watching Ryan stuff his bug collecting kit with the most random and silly items AND then seeing him ~ not only pick out~ but actually wear the yellow Easter Bonnet with a hole on top for our nature walk! I can't believe this picture is not blurry ~ I was laughing so hard it hurt!  =D

8)

 

Digital scrapbooking! I love it! It is so much fun, FREE, and mess free. I have a few favorite sites here, here, here, and here. I use Photoshop Elements 5.0. There are so many easy tutorials out there. It's nice not to have "stuff" all over the place. There are times when Sarah and I love to still get out all of the papers and go to town ~ cutting and pasting, though! fun! 

9)

a fun, impromptu photo shoot at the beach with Sarah in her ballet tutu and watching Ryan chase her ~ priceless!! 

10)

Seeing this really cool STICK in the woods and saying "hey kids look I found a walking stick for us!"

*********

Only to get closer and realize that it was not a stick but THIS:

 WHAT'S THAT? You can't tell what it is? Well, let me get a little closer for you here:

It's a REALLY good thing that my camera had a strap and that I still have something to take pictures with...........YIKES!!!!!!! 

11)

 

****** And last, but not least,

that all important FIRST (of many) cup of coffee, Ryan ASKING me for his nap and hour ago, and the fact that Typepad has a very cool "draft" feature so I can write this post between LOADS of laundry! 

Hope you all have a great day and more TIME to do what makes you happy! =D

Silly Ryan....

I just LOVE watching Ryan's little personality emerge. He has the best sense of humor! He's already developing that stubborn streak that runs in our family. The following pics show that "oh so" stubborn side of my little guy!

"NOPE ~ I'm just not gonna give you THAT smile you want!"

"doot doot do do......NOT gonna happen, Mom"

I'm pretty good at this stubborn game now! LOL!

"FLIP FLOP FLOATING IN THE GRAVY BOWL".......just a few of you know THAT one! (smile,giggle,grin)

OKAY........I'll give you my Michael Jordan tongue! How's that, Mom??? =P

What? You're gonna tackle and tickle me if I don't smile??? UHHHHHHHH............

AND, that's just what she did......THE END!!!

Sugar Magnolias.....

The magnolias are blooming here and they smell heavenly! Ryan and I took off yesterday on a nature walk. We heard that a little gator had made a home in the front pond of our subdivision. So, we ventured out to check it out. It was hot and sunny ~ a gorgeous day. Along the walk, magnolia trees were in full bloom and their fragrant blossoms gave off a sweet, rich aroma.
For some reason, whenever I see a magnolia tree I always start singing this song:
SUGAR MAGNOLIAS
NO, I'm not a DEADHEAD ~ but, thanks to my college roommate who swore she was going to spend her life "following the DEAD" ~ I know all of these songs! I remember being like "Grateful Who??" LOL! Isn't it funny how powerful music and fragrance can be to our memory????? I have always loved these flowers!
Well, I best get TRUCKIN ALONG!! ( Now come on.....THAT was funny! =D

Happy Mother's Day.......

We're sending lots of love to all of the special Moms in our lives!

......... OKAY ~ SO, after that LAST picture, we had to tell Ryan that we were going out for MARGARITAS and he quickly perked up! LOL!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Epcot...

Well, this post sure has dragged on and on.....LOL! You know I goofed and double downloaded ALL of our trip pics and have had a heck of a time getting them all back into order. They are scattered all over my computer and I, of course, erased my chips........aaargh!
Epcot is our favorite place! Even if we decide not to re-buy season passes, we will scrimp and save for tickets to this AWESOME place! It's hard to explain it if you haven't visited it. Basically, Epcot is made up of all the countries and their cultures. You can read more about it HERE or HERE. . It's really a site to be seen. On this visit, they were having the annual flower and garden show ~ gorgeous! Our main goal was to ride the Nemo ride and visit a few other things that we had not yet seen. For the most part, we have been there and seen so much. One of the best things about Epcot is that you can literally eat and drink your way around the world! ha! What's not to like about that?????

We decided to have sushi in Japan for dinner.

The kids LOVED it! Our waitress was so friendly and brought around a basket of toys ~ they each got to pick one thing. Then we walked out onto the deck and watched
Reflections of Earth ~ Epcot's big fireworks display:
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Here are a few more pics of our last most recent visit to Epcot:

Flower and Garden sculptures! Sarah wanted to make sure to smile with Tinkerbell for her friend, Katie! =D

AND, we made the Nemo ride.......woohoo! The rest of the pics will be up in our SmugMug album!

......On the Wild Side

....okay, back to our little trip. We started our first day with a trip to THIS PARK. It's one of our favorites. Sarah and Ryan could spend hours looking at the animals. And, we don't mind.......'cause the animal spots are the only SHADY areas of the park. And, if you were wondering, YES! it's hot out here ~ already. Hot and humid.

Our day was not with out drama as you can see in this picture ~ LOL!

What was the DRAMA you ask? Well, it all started with these:

Yes, you see MOMMY had the brilliant idea to bring the family's ONLY pair of binoculars to see the animals up close. Until now, it's never been a problem. Ryan just runs around and does his own thing. But NOOOOOO, not this time!! He wanted equal time with the binoculars. And, as you can see, Sarah was not happy to have to give them up and SHARE!! But, Daddy quickly stepped in and "encouraged" sharing......and we were off to see the sites. Next time, I'll make sure to bring TWO or none at all! ha! to leave them in the car! LOL!

SEE the MAGIC a Daddy can work??? I can remember vividly being told to hug my sister right after our fights ~ man, was THAT ever painful! =D
But, it worked ~ right, Jen??
Here are some pics of the day:

Now this is funny: So, we're watching the tigers and in walks this lady with a HUGE turkey leg! The THREE Gigantic tigers are pacing back and forth in front of their door because it's just about lunch time. Well, "El DingDong" walks right up to the viewing area waving the turkey leg in front of her face taking huge bites! HELLO!!!!!! Who does that? Thankfully, a park officer quickly nabbed the moronic nice lady and we were saved from being CAT CHOW!! Can you believe it???

I just LOVE this guy!
Stay tuned.......... next up is Epcot ~ our FAVORITE!!
Big Hugs to all! And, thank you so much to all of our friends and family who have been sending pictures to share ~ we love them and miss you!

One Last Hoorah.......

.........well, for now, anyway!

One of the best things we did when we moved here was purchase our season passes to Disney! They paid for themselves after only THREE visits and we are able to hit all of the parks ~ all year long. Well, our year is almost up.......can't quite believe that. So, we took the kids up for 4 days and had a MAGICAL TIME!
For me, the best part of our trip was staying At THIS gorgeous hotel! It is such a beautiful place and REALLY does feel like you're in Italy. Every night they have opera singers perform on the balconies overlooking the piazza. It's great......the kids run around with other kids ~ chasing pigeons ~ while we enjoy a glass of wine and relaxation. Sarah was hilarious ~ she was constantly amazed at how every day our room was magically CLEAN ~ "Look Mama......they did it again!" LOL! If only that happened at home, huh? =)

This is the view from our room ~ lovely!

One of the highlights was the little "mopeds" placed around the hotel! The kids loved them.......and, well, we did too! So fun!

We haven't even left the hotel yet and my computer time is up.......for now! I'll post the rest of the trip in a bit and then add the rest to my SmugMug Album