UF-FIU

Kevin REALLY wanted to go to a Florida game as a family and so we got tickets for all four of us to go to the FIU game. I'd wanted to take the kids up to the stadium one Saturday to watch the Gator Walk. We got there right at 10 and there were packs of people and it must have been 15 people deep everywhere. All you could see was this:

I manuvered as best I could and put Grant on my shoulders and then held my camera up as all the players passed by. You could feel the crowd get excited as Tebow was coming near. It really was like some kind of superstar was walking by, kinda strange but there I was along with the other people snapping my camera and telling Grant to look for Tebow (cause goodness knows I didn't see him from where I was). So these were the shots of what I could get, I guess Grant saw him and the other players walk by.

Yeah. A little bit crazy. And I think I pulled a muscle in my back trying to get Grant on my shoulders cause it hurt for a few days after that. And you know what he and Amelia were so excited about seeing? Paper Eyes.

They think those Geico dollar bill advertisements are so funny and they had this sign flying over the stadium the whole time we were there. So we were saying, 'Look guys, it's the football players, there is Urban Meyer, and there's Tim Tebow!' and they were pointing to the sky saying 'Look! It's Paper Eyes!'

It was funny to look around after the Gator Walk was over. Everyone was looking at their cameras to see what pictures they were able to get. It was neat to be able to experience that, I wish they'd done this while I'd been in school.

We saw the cheerleaders and Albert and Alberta and Grant was able to give Albert a high five.

After the Gator Walk we went over to the O-Dome to the Gator Fanfare area they had set up. There were so many things to do and see there. First we stood in line to have our picture taken with the Heisman Trophy.

Then we found some rocks to sit down on and eat our picnic lunch that we'd bought at Publix. I think the kids had more fun just climbing on the rocks than anything else.

I put a hair bow on Kevin's sweet tea and told him it now was "Tea-bow"

Yeah. I've got a very literal sense of humor. Kev loves it though. Then Urban Meyer called Kevin to let him know he could suit up for the game, that he found an extra year of eligiblity so he and Grant got ready to go on the field.

No, not really, but they had the pads and helmets for people to get pictures in and Grant and Kev looked so cute. Or handsome. Manly. Whatever, I love that picture. It's Grossman and a little Tebow. And Amelia got in line to see Alberta.

Grant was the last person to be able to toss the football through the hole. He'd been dying to hold a football and play with one all morning. Everybody cheered for him when he got it in, so cute.

Then it was off to find our seats. We didn't have any trouble getting in or putting our stroller off to the side inside the stadium. That was great to be able to bring that a long with us, but to leave it inside the stadium by the exit. We found our seats and would you believe it, but our friends the Ruby's were in the same row from us, just a few seats down with their two kids. Small world! Out of all 90 something thousand seats and they were right there.

The kids were pretty good, they cheered along and sang the songs and stayed pretty occupied up to halftime. Then I went and got a little treat for all of us to share. They loved it.

We had such a fun family day!

Halloween

Halloween capped off a very busy month for our family. I suggested plenty of different costume ideas to Amelia, but she persisted in wanting to be Abby Cadabby again this year for Halloween and since it didn't cost anything I was up for a recycled costume. It really boggles my mind though, because it's not like we really watch Abby at all....or ever really. We did see her at Sea World this summer, but other than that we don't watch Sesame Street ever. So I don't really know why Amelia's latched on to Abby.

But I knew what I wanted Grant to be and I knew he'd want to too. Getting him to wear a costume is near impossible so I knew it had to be something he'd just love to be and the costume had to be easy to get off and on since he'd be taking it off a lot. I knew a friend whose son was Thomas the Train a few years ago and borrowed the costume from her. It was perfect, though at first he didn't want to wear it. But when he put it on I made a big deal about how he was really Thomas the Train and how he could chug all over the house. Well, that and I said he wouldn't get any candy unless he was dressed up.

So the halloween festivities commenced. First up was a costume playgroup for Grant's friends from North Florida. This was just the boys:

The crackers helped them stand still for a picture for a second. Otherwise they were enjoying running in circles with Amelia.

Next up was Trunk or Treat at Trinity UMC. This was a fun event and counted as our pumkin patch pictures too.

It was so hot out there, the kids were sweating bullets. What is with Halloween in Florida? I felt for the poor kids in the furry dog suits or fleecy long sleeves. Yikes.

It was great for the kids to be able to just go up to cars and trick or treat so easily. But there were TONS of other people out there too. But the trunks were decorated so well and some of them had fun little things for the kids to do. Like for this one the kids had to get in the bed of the truck to hunt for the candy.

Next up was the costume parade at the preschool. The kids were allowed to wear their costume all day if they wanted, but Grant opted out of that and didn't want to wear it. But his teachers got it on him somehow before the parade and Kevin came to watch and take pictures. I got to dress up too and my students alternately were a little scared or amused.

Kevin was a good daddy and carved a pumpkin with the kids out on the porch one evening.

And on the actual Halloween day we went to Boo at the Zoo. We got there early because the FL-GA game started at 3:30 (I hate 3:30 games by the way, worst time ever for us). The theme of Boo at the Zoo was Grimm's fairy tales and those were a bit scary but I think it went over the top of my kids head. They just wanted the candy.

And enjoyed some of the decorations like these mirrors.

And after it was all done the kids happily endulged my desire to take a picture of them together. Ah, can you feel the love?

We did a little trick o treating at the two houses on our street that we usually go to and then called it a night. Now to get rid of all that candy. Hmm. Yep, looks like we have plenty of candy for our Operation Christmas Child boxes!

Feliz Cumpleanos!

So this year we had their birthday parties together again. It is so much easier to do a big party one time than two small parties. Plus, so many of Amelia's friends have siblings that are friends with Grant and visa versa. So they'd all be coming to both parties anyway.

This year the theme was Dora and Diego, a good gender neutral theme. I made the invitations using my StoryBook Creator Program. Fun and easy.

I made the cakes the night before using the Wilton Dora and Diego Cake pans. I'd bought a cake pan for the Elmo party I did for Amelia's 2nd birthday, but these were a lot more labor intenstive than I'd thought!

They didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but the kids liked them and that was the important thing. And at 10 pm I was sure I was going to run out of icing, finally finished the cakes up at 2 am and took this picture. Glad I did because the Dora cake got bumped on the way to the party and she lost her nose, mouth and part of her shirt. I was trying to decide how angry I was about that as I smoothed her out and fixed her up. Even though Dora looked a bit demented, I decided I wouldn't be too angry about it.

Here's the group shot in front of the mural I painstakingly hung up the night before with a friend (thank you Kristin!!!). We were seriously worried it would fall, but it stayed up. It was left over from VBS and went well with the Dora and Diego theme.

Amelia and her best buddy Jacob

Kevin put together a fun scavenger hunt based on Dora adventures. The kids had to read clues and run to find the next clue that would lead them to the Pinata. They had to go over the bridge and talk to the Grumpy Old Troll.

Then they ran off to find clues in the santuary and in 'Mouse's House' on the playground. Then it was back to the back field to 'Chocolate Tree'

Where they all got some chocolate and their last clue. Back to the Youth Building to find the pinata and what do you know but Swiper was there, trying to swipe the Pinata. The kids had to say "Swiper No Swiping, Swiper No Swiping, Swiper NO Swiping" and he said, "Oh man!"

Then it was Pinata time

And everybody got a few hits at it and no one was even close to breaking it open. So...

We just had to rip it open. But the kids liked it anyway. It was a fun party and I hope the kids enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed planning it!

Amelia's Birthday

Next Birthday this month! Amelia turns 5!

First off for Amelia is her playgroup birthday party. We've been doing a group birthday party since this crew all turned 1 year old. I met all of these other moms at North Florida Regional Medical Center in the postpartum luncheons. Our kids were all newborns and we started meeting weekly after the 16 weeks of luncheons were done. Now that they are all in preschool we don't meet very often, but we all had to get together to celebrate 5 years. It's really hard to believe, here they are at one year old:

And here we all are again at age 5:

Then on to Amelia's birthday celebrations at school and her friends singing for her at chapel.

Amelia and Grant are "Chapel Buddies" meaning that the older kids in her class adopted Grant's class and they each hold hands with one of the two year olds on the way over to chapel. It's too precious to see the big 4/5 year olds come and get the 2/3year olds and they sit with them during the chapel time. So sweet. It's neat that they can be in school together.

And then on to Amelia's birthday at home. Since we did a Hello Kitty party for her 3 year old birthday we still had stuff left over from that and I made a simple Hello Kitty cake to make it a special day. The birthday kids get to have their favorite meal and then we sing and open presents and then have cake. It's fun to celebrate with them.

Lastly, she had a party at school and I brought cupcakes for her whole class to have at snack time. They had to be store bought, or I certainly would have made my own cupcakes. Plus, these had so much food coloring....let's just say the 'end' result was very blue.

I was on the playground with my class and Grant's class before and he saw me go into her class and got upset until his teacher brought him over to the door. He sat next to Amelia and watched them all with their cupcakes and I could tell he was thinking, 'what about me? do I get a cupcake?' and since there were a few left over I let him have one too. He was very happy about that. And they look all nice and neat in this picture...

they really got into the cupcakes.

Awesome.

Grant's Birthday

Well, my little guy turned three and it seems like we celebrate birthdays ALL of October. First it was his at home, then at school, then in chapel, then her's at home, school, and chapel, then their party together, WHEW! Not to mention there are 3 other October birthdays in our family.

Here is his little family party at home on his actual birthday. We did a Cars theme, and no, he's not turning 95, that's Lightning McQueen's number and that was the best I could do for his cake. I saved the labor intensive one for the big party.

And not that I have anything against these other two boys, I am just not allowed to post pictures of other people's children online. This was at school during our chapel service on Wednsday of his birthday week. Each week the kids who have birthdays get to stand up front and the whole school sings Happy Birthday. It's so sweet and I get teary-eyed every week, even when it's not my own kids! Grant had the cutest little shy face as everyone was singing.

I don't have to black out this little guy, he is a friend of Grant's since they were born. They were in the same playgroup together. I brought cupcakes to his class and they celebrated Grant that day too.

My little guy is 3 years old!

Our Disney Trip

(DISCLAIMER: If you aren't related to me and don't want the 'play by play' of our Disney trip then feel free to just scroll down and check out the pictures. The short version: We had a blast.)

For a long while I've watched as many of my friends took their kids to Disney and all had a wonderful family time together. We live so close that I knew we'd go eventually but never found the right time. Well when Disney announced the Free Admission on your Birthday promo I figured there was never a better time to go than my birthday in September. Grant was not yet three and so he was totally free, so we only had to pay for Kevin and Amelia's tickets. Yay!

We went down to Orlando on Wednesday night and were going to have dinner with the Agnew family, Kevin's cousin. They have a 3 year old little boy Nathan and we knew Grant would love meeting his second cousin. We were excited to meet him too and he was such a sweetie. Nathan's play room proved to be almost as exciting as Disney itself. Rob and April were great to hang out with and they invited us to stay the night. Since it would have been pulling teeth to get our kids to leave, we agreed and they were all excited about the 'sleepover.'

The boys playing with Cars.

So the next morning we got up early and were driving into the park when Grant got something in his eye and was crying as I was trying to get it out. At the same time Amelia was crying about not having a pillow that Grant was using. After ascertaining that I could do no more to help Grant I faced forward to avoid car sickness as they both wailed in the back. We paid for our parking and drove on through and I turned around and said, "Listen, this is the happiest place on earth, you guys DO want to go here today right? If you don't calm down we don't have to go."

Fortunately after a few minutes they both calmed down and we parked really close as it was only 8:40. We got our tickets and were on the monorail at 9am. Kevin and I gave each other a high five for making it to the park right when it opened. We planned to get our money's worth out of the day.

After a false start at the train station (we'd planned to take the train to Toontown Fair, but that stop didn't open until 10am) and getting a potty break out of the way we went through the castle and headed to Fantasyland.

We started the morning on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Kevin took Amelia on it first as I got Grant all sunscreened and then we all went on it together again since there was no one else in line. Grant was so cute pointing out Tigger and the other characters.

Grant was a little scared but I think for the most part he enjoyed the ride. We went over to It's a Small World and they both really enjoyed that ride and I loved seeing it all again through their eyes. It had undergone some improvements and really looked great.

Grant is obviously loving it

Next we went right across to Peter Pan's Flight and got right on, no waiting still which was great. We felt like we were getting a lot done on our 'must do' list. We then went to Mickey's PhilharMagic, a 3D show, and we made it just in time for the next showing. Sweet! Grant was a little scared at that because it had stuff flying at you and water squirting on you. It was a really neat show, it had a huge screen. Then Kevin took the kids on the carousel while I went to grab the strollers from where we parked them earlier. They got to go two times in a row because there weren't any lines. They loved it, as you can see here...

By then it was nearing 11 and we decided that we'd done Fantasyland pretty well and we moved on. As we were headed to Mickey's Toontown Fair we saw the Tomorrowland Speedway and decided to stop there first. We had to wait about 10 minutes and Amelia threw the only fit of the day when she realized she had to ride with Mommy instead of with Daddy. Oh, beloved Daddy. It was time for the little boy to get some time on a ride with Daddy and Grant loved being able to drive the car.

So then we decided the kids were probably hungry so we went over to Tomorrowland to find a table and get a bite to eat. So we ate an early lunch from about 11:30-12 and then we went directly across to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. It was a fun ride where you could spin your car around as you scored points by shooting at Zurg targets. I got a crazy high score and became a 'Galactic Hero'. Kevin and I loved it, but the kids were less than enthusiastic about it and didn't really understand why they were supposed to be shooting things.

After that we noticed there was an area where we could meet Buzz Lightyear himself so we waited about 15 minutes to get a picture. Once we got to the front Grant didn't want to go near Buzz, he was running away and saying "Nooo!" I grabbed him and consoled him long enough to get a family picture.

Then it was finally off to Mickey's Toontown Fair where we'd get to meet lots more characters. First off was Minnie's House. Amelia thought it was so cute.

Then Grant and Kevin were in heaven when we went into the Hall of Fame Tent where they had a gift/toy shop. Amelia loved making her own Ms. Potato Head with all the different accessories (not to take home of course. 21.95? I don't think so!). Grant and Kevin stayed over by the Cars toys while Amelia and I waited in line to see the Princesses. She was pretty excited about meeting them and while we waited in line I dressed her in the princess dress we'd brought. She kept asking if they would be able to talk to her, since all the other characters she'd met were in big costumes and didn't talk. She was very shy when we finally got in the room with them.

It may be hard to tell with Cinderella, but she was really excited and trying to hold it all in.

By the time she got to the third princess she'd warmed up and started talking with her. Then it was off to get Daddy and Grant and go see Mickey's house and meet the big mouse himself.

We only had to wait about 20 minutes and it was worth it. They loved meeting them and thought it was so cool to give them hugs. After that we were done with Toontown Fair (since Donald's Boat was closed, bummer) and we got on the railroad to take us over to Frontierland.

We wandered around in Frontierland for a while not really knowing where to go because there wasn't anything in this area we really wanted to see. We stopped to get our bearings and realized we were right in front of the Country Bear Jamboree and it was starting in 4 minutes. So we figured it'd be a good way to just sit down and figure out where to go next. What a boring show, man, I was so happy when it was over. It was like 17 minutes and after about the first two minutes I was wondering if it would be rude to just walk out. It was good to just sit down in semi-air-conditioning though.

Then we decided it was time for a snack. Kevin found a little stand that sold Turkey Legs (a classic Kevin tradition) and then we also went to my favorite, Aloha Isle for some pineapple ice cream and floats. Yum!

It's just not a trip to a theme park without a turkey leg.

By this time it was 2:30 and we'd really packed a lot into our day. We decided to go to Adventureland and on Pirates of the Caribbean before the parade at 3pm. Pirates was great, the new updates with Jack Sparrow and using some scenes from the movies was really cool. I didn't remember there being a big drop in the dark so when I heard the boat in front of us screaming as they went down I held onto Grant, but both the kids did fine.

We thought Grant might nap while we waited for the parade, but no such luck. But the kids enjoyed watching it and waving to the characters.

 Back to Adventureland we took a ride on the Jungle Cruise and Amelia kept asking if the animals were real and of course none of them are. Kevin could barely stand all the cheezy jokes, but I thought it was pretty fun. With all the stairs we took a pass on Swiss Family Treehouse and went back near the castle to head to the areas where the kids could just run around and play. On our way there we passed by the castle and realized that the next 'Dream along with Mickey' show was just about to start. We got seats right up front and watched the show. I thought it was great with the dancers and all the characters. The kids were a little scared when the fireworks went off but liked it overall.

After the show was over we went around the castle and saw Cinderella's fountain. I had to get a picture of Amelia near it because I know somewhere there is a picture of my sister and I in front of it.

Then it was off to Pooh's playful spot where the kids could just run around and climb on things and play and we could sit and watch.

While Kevin took Grant to the bathroom, Amelia and I went and rode the Winnie the Pooh ride again. She really liked that ride and thought it was so funny. Now I'll have to rent that movie and let her see the video it's based on. After Kevin got back we took the kids over to Ariel's Grotto where they had a little splashy area with fountains squirting so the kids could get wet. We got them changed into their bathing suits and then let them go at it. They had lots of fun getting wet and we sat and relaxed and ate some of our snacks since it was about 6pm. They wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a cute picture of the two of them.

Even though it was getting near bedtime we were still going strong. Amelia and I went on Dumbo and she loved it because she got to control when it went up and down.

Before we went on the ride Amelia decided she wanted to be in a pink Dumbo. I noticed that there were only two of them and I was worried that she might have a fit if we other people got to them before we did. So I prepped her with 'Now it doesn't matter what color we get, we'll still have a fun time, right? Even if we ride in a yellow or blue one.' I was so glad when she replied positively and said we'd still have fun. As the gate opened for us to go in I noticed a mom and little girl rushing over to the first pink one so I headed the other way and we snagged the second pink one. Yay! I was just so proud of her good attitude.

Now it was 7pm, time for some dinner right? Well...sort of....

I love these ice cream bars and the kids got popsicles too. Amelia got the huge one with lots of colors and Grant pointed to the sugar free fruit bar. He chose the healthiest one so I upgraded him to the one with regular sugar. We ate our ice cream on the way back over to Adventureland. We explored Tom Sawyer's island and that was really cool, there were caves, and mines and rickety bridges to cross. Next we went to the Tiki room and the kids liked all the birds singing. We asked Amelia if she wanted to ride Aladdin's Carpets and she said no, until we told her she could sit in the front and make the carpet go up and down, then she was all for it.

Grant was so cute as we were going up and down.

So then we crossed back over the park and went to Tomorrowland again because the only thing we hadn't done that we wanted to do was to go to the Monsters Inc Laugh floor show. We waited for so long to get into this ride, or at least it felt like it, but it was worth it. I wish I could have taken pictures because it was a crowd interactive show and Kevin got on the big TV as "The guy who wants to dance". And boy did he dance! I was laughing so much, he got up and did some disco moves and a whole bunch of Gator chomps. So funny! The rest of the show was really good too. Grant was laying in my lap and was sooooo close to falling asleep. I thought for sure he would be out once we got done with the ride and he got back in the stroller.

After getting our family picture in front of the night castle we crossed the park again to go back over to Liberty Square to go on the Haunted Mansion. I know, I know. What kind of mom would take her kids on the Haunted Mansion when they were getting scared on rides like Winnie the Pooh? Really, I told Kevin I just wanted to ride on it and he could just wait in the line with me and then not go on it, but as we got through the line that wasn't an option and we all had to go on the ride. The kids did suprisingly well, I tried to just cover Grant's eyes and lay him on me to try and get him to fall asleep but he kept peeking around my hand. Kevin did a good job of keeping things light for Amelia saying things like, 'Oh that is a silly ghost'.

When we got off the ride we started walking over to where the parade would be. We timed it perfectly because we saw people starting to stand up and the parade had just gotten to where we were. We crept up to the road and found a few spots right up front where we could sit and the kids could be in our laps and see perfectly. Awesome!

The parade was amazing, the lights and colors were beautiful.

Of course, nearing 10pm after all this excitement did our little girl in...

But Grant was still rearing to go, wielding the Mickey lightsaber we got from a souvenir stand.

We stopped in a Christmas shop and got an ornament to remember our trip by. Then all that was left to do was watch the fireworks. We maneuvered our way through the crowds toward the entrance on Main Street before they started. We didn't really get to see them all that well, just enough to do a few 'oohs and ahhs'.

Amelia had woken up when we put her in the stroller since she had a parade nap. But the stroller had the opposite effect on Grant.

So that was our trip! We got in the car around 10:30 and still made it over to the Outlet Mall for me to go shopping before they closed at 11pm. Then we grabbed some McDonalds for us since the kids were now asleep and we drove back to Gainesville. What a tiring day, but it was worth it and we had so much fun with the kids and made many memories together.

Sharing 'Toys'

I must have really goofed somewhere along the line on teaching the kids to share their toys. They are both quite strong willed and when they see the other one wants a particular toy, something in them goes off and says "I wanted that toy too!" Or if they were playing with a toy ten minutes ago, but left it and are happily playing with something else, they are suddenly outraged as the other decides to play with the forgotten toy, "HEY! I was playing with that!"

The other morning things sunk to a new low. I heard Grant crying his sad cry from the kitchen table where they were both eating breakfast. I went in and asked him why he was crying and he said, "Amelia won't let me have a lightsaber." Now, this would be a pretty normal thing to hear except for the fact that we don't own toy lightsabers (surprise!). They were fighting over PRETEND toys! Now, it gets better. I didn't really know what to do at this point (besides laugh and go tell Kevin), but I came back and asked Amelia if she would share a 'lightsaber' with Grant. She held out her empty hand and 'gave' him one. He says.... "NO! I don't want THAT one! I want the OTHER one!" Meaning that he wanted the one in her right hand! So I asked Amelia if she could give him the other one and she did and went off screaming as if I'd robbed her, while Grant trotted away happy with his right-handed lightsaber. She proceeded to 'steal' it away from him and I did what the logical parent would do....I 'took' all the lightsabers and put them on top of my dresser.

I don't remember exactly how we worked this out. I think it had something to do with Kevin explaining to her that he could make two of the same lightsabers, one for her and one to give to Grant. And also I reminded her that if she couldn't share pretend toys with her brother, how could I send her to school and expect her to share real toys with her classmates.
Gee whiz!