Florida Vacation: Day 4

Oh, I don't even know where to begin. This post is filled with pictures, but this is only a fraction of the ones I took that day. Our day began with a tram ride then a monorail ride to the entrance at Magic Kingdom. We got there in time to see the end of the morning welcome show.

Our first stop was to meet Daisy. The kids got her autograph and had their picture taken with her. Kelly was generous enough to buy the kids lanyards, pins to trade, autograph books and a pen. My kids would have done without all of these things if it weren't for their nice Aunt Kelly!

Of course, we had to take a picture of Cinderella's castle. Addie has been waiting to see it since we pulled out of our driveway! She was SO excited!

Our trip would not have been complete without a picture with Mr. Disney himself.

I am a long-time Disney fan, so I had to get my picture taken, too!

Then we were off to ride some rides! Our first ride stop was Space Mountain. Everyone rode except for Jarrett and Addison. It brought back great memories of when I rode it almost 20 years ago. Jonathan and Bryson weren't fans. They said they wouldn't get on it again!

After Space Mountain, we rode the BuzzLightyear ride, the Stitch ride (It was horrible. I should have heeded the warning from the book I borrowed from a friend.) We rode the race cars, also. The kids thought those were fun. I remember riding that ride when I was a kid and my grandmother brought my sister, Jamie, and I.

Riding the race cars!

Next we went to FantasyLand so Addison could ride the tea cups. She talked about this ride all morning, so she was thrilled when she finally got to ride! Drew and I rode with her and didn't spin too fast.

Who could resist a picture with the Beast? Not Addison!

Here she is waiting in line to ride Dumbo. My kids have never watched Dumbo, but she loved the ride. We waited over 30 minutes for 60 seconds in the air with Dumbo. Who is the Dumbo???

At some point, we ate lunch and went on some more rides. We rode Snow White's Scary Adventures. Addison said it was scary, but she really doesn't like the witch in Snow White and she showed up a lot in the ride.

I'm not sure what ride we were waiting for here.

Another group picture!

This is in line for It's a Small World. Addison really liked this ride. I liked the fact that it was air conditioned! It also brought back memories from years ago.

After a while the boys and girls parted ways. The boys had an appointment to become pirates and Addison had an appointment to be dressed up as Cinderella! Thanks, again, Aunt Kelly!

While we waited for Addison's appointment time we went on the carousel or as Addie called it the "spinner go round."

Of course, we went into some shops. Kelly bought Addison a light-up crown in this one. Can you just see the happiness on her face?

Then it was time for her appointment. They were running a little behind, so we got to sit and see many little girls get dressed up as their favorite princess. We got to enjoy some air conditioning, too!

Aunt Kelly and Addie waiting for her appointment. While we waited, Addison got to choose what hair style she wanted. I tried to talk her into the Pop Princess, but she wanted the one that looked like a little bun. I know she only wanted it because it came with a little tiara!

Here she is after getting her hair, nails and make-up done. The "Fairy Godmother in Training" did a great job with her. Addison even spoke to her a couple of times. Addison is pretty shy and doesn't speak to many people, especially people she doesn't know.

Here is the little princess all made up getting her picture taken. What you can't see in this picture is that she had her tennis shoes on! She reminded me of Runaway Bride! We had some great girl time thanks to Aunt Kelly!

Then it was time to meet the boys/pirates!

Here is Jackson aka Enrique Swordcutter. They were given a pirate name, a sword and pirate make-up. Doesn't he look awesome?!

Bryson aka Thomas Cannonshot! I could do without the bubba teeth, though! When Addison first saw him she said, "Uh, oh, you're going to have to go to the orthodontist!" She's so funny! Next we caught part of a parade (We were on our way back from the restroom, so I didn't have my camera!) and decided to ride Thunder Mountain. David, Drew, Bryson, Jackson and I rode. Nobody else want to. Again, brought back memories!

Here are the boys after the ride. Bryson and Jackson said they didn't like it, but they were having a bad attitude by this point. They were hot and tired. Our day was coming to an end and they weren't too happy when I said I wanted another picture! Again, they will thank me one day!

Me and Drew after Thunder Mountain. Our last stop for the day was the Hall of Presidents. Addie mistakenly thought I said Hall of Princesses, so she was pretty disappointed! She ended up falling asleep. I almost did, too.

We went back to the house and the kids swam while we got dinner ready. The pool was great entertainment as was the game room with pool table, fooseball, air hockey and video games. The house was a great place to spend the week!

My boys ended the day sleeping in the same bed. I just love it when they are sweet to each other.

That was our first day at Disney World. The next day we went to Epcot. More on that tomorrow!

Florida Vacation: Day 3

Day 3 found us at Daytona Beach. After the kids got over their fear of sharks they had a great time playing in the water. David had bought two boogie boards the night before, so the kids (and adults) got to try those out. That was so much fun! I caught some good waves several times and only had one "wardrobe malfunction!" After that, I handed the board off to the kids and went to work on a sand castle. It took me FOREVER (or a couple of hours) to build a smallish one. That's hard work! Of course, the tide came in shortly after I took pictures and washed all my hard work away. Such is the life of a beach bum!

The kids thought this was stupid, but they will thank me for all the pictures I took one day. Right now they are just tolerating me.

There's not a whole lot to say about our trip to the beach. We played in the water and sand, ate lunch and cleaned up to leave. Our next stop was the house we rented for the week. More to come tomorrow!

Florida Vacation: Days 1 and 2

I am a little overwhelmed with the number of pictures I have from our trip and with the desire to document everything we did and saw. I think the best way to do it is to take a day at a time and post pictures and events of each day. I may combine a couple of the less eventful days. I will also post most of my pictures on FaceBook.

We started our trip at 4:00 am. Our goal was to reach Mobile, AL by dinner time factoring in several stops along the way. I didn't know how my kids would do with such a long car trip. The longest they have ever been in a car is about 5 hours going to Houston and to Oklahoma. Needless to say, I was a little worried. They were so amped up to go that it took them over an hour to settle down and fall asleep. Shortly after that we stopped to go to the restroom and grab something for breakfast. That was just one of the MANY stops we made that day! I wanted to stop at each state line for a picture. We made everyone except for Alabama. The Alabama sign was right near a bridge and it wasn't safe to stop. I said I would get it on the way back, but we never did.

Here are the kids crossing into Louisiana. My kids are really into states and maps, so this was fun for them to stop. Bryson and Jonathan thought it was fun to stand in two states at the same time. I have a picture of that, but I am trying to limit the number of pictures I include in these posts. I have over 500! You're welcome! :0)

Here they are in Mississippi. We stopped at the visitor's center for a little while to let them walk around a little bit and use the restroom (again!) Do you know how hard it is to synchronize 9 bladders? Not an easy task!

Of course, they had to sit on the big cannon. Addie didn't like it and let us know all about it! Drew, David and I stopped at a casino right down the road. I have never gambled, so I wanted to give it a go. Kelly stayed in the car with the kids. Jarrett thought we were going in to vote! It took me all of three minutes to lose my $15 at the slot machine. (We had given ourselves a limit of $5, but that only lasted about 60 seconds. I pulled a $10 out of my wallet and that was gone real quick, too!) Drew and David were playing Black Jack when I found them. David quickly lost his $5 and an additional $20 shortly after. Drew walked away with $25. He knows when to stop. I don't. I guess that's why I don't gamble!

We stopped in Richland, MS to eat lunch. We had packed a lunch and found a city park to stop at. The kids had fun playing and running off some energy and we were glad to be out of the car for a little bit.

We finally made it to Mobile, AL in time to get cleaned up for dinner. We ate at the Mellow Mushroom. They have the BEST pizza crust I have ever eaten. I didn't know that there is one right down the road by TCU. I KNOW we will be visiting that one real soon! The next morning we got up and headed to Pensacola, FL. We had plans to stop at the Naval Aviation Museum before moving on.

This is at the Florida Visitors Center. Florida has the nicest visitors center and rest stops out of all the states we drove through. We stayed there for about an hour. The kids enjoyed looking at the brochures and drinking the fresh squeezed orange and grapefruit juice.

I know I posted this on FaceBook, but I want to document it for my blog. I was at a vending machine buying something to drink and Addie was with me. (She really didn't leave my side the entire trip.) Evidently she didn't see me put my money in and we don't really use vending machines very often. I asked her if she wanted something. She put her hands up to her mouth, leaned into the machine and said to the machine, "I want a Gatorade." It was the cutest most innocent thing I had seen in a while. After I laughed, of course, I showed her how to put the money in, make her selection and get her Gatorade out of the machine. She thought it was pretty cool!

Fresh squeezed orange juice from Florida! Notice that Cinderella is with us!

Here we are in Florida! Our next stop was the Naval Avaition Museum. If you are ever in Pensacola, I highly recommend it. It is HUGE and filled from floor to ceiling with all kinds of air crafts. We spent a couple of hours looking around and didn't see but a fraction of the place.

Here are Drew and David after taking a ride in the flight simulator. I wasn't "man" enough to try it. I don't like tight, dark, moving spaces. Jackson and Jarrett did it, too, but my picture of them turned out blurry. I am still learning how to use my new camera.

Some where along the way that day we decided to drive to Jacksonville and Neptune Beach. Our original plan was to drive into Orlando, spend Saturday night there, go to Cocoa Beach on Sunday and check into the house we rented Sunday after 4:00. We decided to go through Jacksonville and on to Daytona Beach instead. We spent Sunday at Daytona beach and drove to the house Sunday afternoon. I was so glad we did that! The kids had a blast at Daytona Beach!

Here we are at Neptune Beach. We got there right at sunset and only had time to walk in the sand and take some pictures. The boys got to see the church their dad pastored back in the early 80's, also.

Addie and me on Neptune Beach. I will have pictures of Daytona Beach and some more details of our trip on the next post. Stay tuned!

Thoughts of the Random Kind

• We are four weeks away from going back to work and I want time to slow down! There are days when I want to send my kids somewhere just so they can get away from each other (and me!), but most days are fine. The lack of routine is always tough for me, but I have remedied that by having a morning workout routine and schedule each day. I just do a lot better when I have a schedule.

• Today I had grand plans to reorganize my closet, but I came home from the gym with a headache I just couldn't shake. I spent a few hours in bed this afternoon, but I could never fall asleep. I finally got up and took some Advil and ate dinner. I think it is finally gone. We went and got snowcones, too, so I'm sure that helped as well! :0)

• I have been feeling a little self-conscious about my last post, but I am not going to delete it. I have had friends text, message and talk to me about what I said and, evidently, I'm not the only one who has issues. (No, I really didn't think I was the only one. It just feels that way sometimes.) Each day is a struggle to change my train of thought, but I am working on it.

• We are getting ready to go to Florida. The kids are really looking forward to it. I am too, but I am just anxious about the drive. Once we are there I will be fine until we have to drive back! I am determined to have a good time, though, and make it a memorable experience for my kids. Yes, happy memories! :0)

• I got a new camera at the beginning of summer and haven't taken very many pictures. This was not my intention, it just happened. I plan on taking a lot when we are on vacation, so prepare yourselves for a long picture post before we go back to school.

• I really wish I had something to blog about each day, but the truth is we are just boring! I finally have the time to blog and have nothing to blog about! On that note, I am going to stop right here and go sit my happy butt back on the couch! See? Pretty boring!

One Year and Some (Random) Thoughts

WARNING: This entire blog post is about weight loss, body image and dieting.

I have been struggling with some issues lately. If you don't want to read about these, stop reading and go do something else. If you are going to criticize me or critique every little word, misspelling or incorrect grammer don't waste your time. I am going to get my thoughts out without fear of how this is going to sound to someone who doesn't truly know me. I am going to be honest and transparent and if you don't like it, I am not going to worry about it. Love me or leave me. If that means I lose another friend on FaceBook, then so be it. If it means you stop reading my blog, that's fine too. (If you do know me in real life, you know I am NEVER this blunt. I guess I am just feeling "ballsy" right now!) These thoughts are going to be random and scattered, but that's how I am. Again, if you don't want to read and support me, move on.

I have been doing Weight Watchers for one year. I started off wanting to lose 20 pounds because I had registered to run a half marathon. I wanted to make the running as easy as possible and I knew that losing weight would help. I have blogged about this before, so I won't go into it too deeply.

After I lost 20, I lowered my goal weight 5 pounds, met that goal and lowered it 5 more pounds. I have never been able to reach the final goal of 30 pounds lost. I really thought I would have reached it by now. Unfortunately, I get in my own way sometimes and this is one of those times. I don't know if I am afraid of what comes next after I reach my goal, or if my goal is unrealistic. I have come within 3 pounds of my goal, but just can't get there. In the past 3 months I have stayed within a 3-5 pound range of my goal. Am I at my healthy weight? Is my body saying it's had enough? Does the "number" really matter? Why is that particular number so important? These are the questions that are floating around in my head right now and they are cluttering up my brain.

This morning I decided to increase my goal weight to 25 pounds lost and begin maintenance mode. This will give me some freedom to enjoy the rest of the summer and hopefully stop my obsession with the "number" on the scale. I know reaching the "number" will not make me a better person. I know it will not complete my life. I know Drew won't love me more if I get there. I KNOW these things, so why has it become so important? It's not important, so I need to stop the maddness right now. I KNOW what is important in life~ Drew, my kids, my family, God and my personal relationship with Him, my job, my friends. The "number" is not. I have spent SO MUCH time obsessing and focussing on it that I was beginning to lose sight of the really important things. This is my attempt to stop.

I have changed so much in the past year. I KNOW this, but sometimes I need little reminders. In the past few weeks I have had several people comment on my changing body. Compliments are nice to hear, but, frankly, they make me a little uncomfortable. I just never know what to say in return (yes, I do say "Thank you") and I just try to change the subject as quickly as possible. Saturday morning after taking a kickboxing class, a lady, who I have seen may times at the gym, stopped me in the parking lot and said I looked amazing. Really? I told her thank you and started to turn toward my car. She then asked how I have done it. I began to tell her that I have been doing several things, but I think that eating better is the key to it all. I told her I began Weight Watchers, trained for and ran a half-marathon, use the Nike Training Club app on my iPhone, and take several classes each week during the summer at the gym. This is the same thing I tell anyone who asks. She and I talked for about 10 minutes. Then I got in my car and the first thing I noticed was how big my legs looked while sitting in my car. Seriously? Why am I so hard on myself? Why can't I just be satisfied with how God made my body? Why do I immediately see my flaws while other people can see past that?

This morning I woke up and immediately starting thinking about the "number" and if I would ever reach it. That is when I decided to increase my goal weight and try to get over this obsession. I told Drew my plan and (I think) he agrees. He will support me no matter what, but I know his brain starts to hurt when I start talking to him about the "number." Yes, I have talked about it A LOT over the past year.

So, as of today, I am happy to report that I have reached my (new) goal weight! Does this matter to anyone but me? Nope. Will anybody even know what that number is? Not unless they ask. I have been pretty honest with people who have been gutsy enough to ask how much I weigh. I know it's not a question you would normally ask someone, but if I can help someone deal with their weight issues I will. I am glad some people feel comfortable around me to ask such personal questions. If you know me in real life, you know that I am an open book~ too open sometimes! I'm sure most people would still think I need to get my number down a little bit, but I have to consider my body type and make-up. I need to consider my muscle to fat ratio. I have been lifting weights a lot over the last 6 months, so I know that is going to make my body weigh more. I cannot change my body type, I can just work with what I have been given.

I am hopeful that my journey will encourage or inspire other people. I would love to be able to help someone become healthier or more fit. I would love to be an encouraging voice to someone who is struggling with the same issues I face and have faced in the past. I have told Drew (and one friend) that if I am this same size in a year, I will consider myself successful. I don't want to have to do this over again. I am going to focus on maintaining my current weight and toning my muscles as much as I can. I am going to focus on being healthy physically as well as spiritually. I am going to enjoy everything that God has blessed me with and the people who are in my life. Right now I am in a good place.

Checking In

I really had good intentions of keeping my blog updated this summer, but I haven't! We are just enjoying our summer. Every day we wake up and go to the gym for a couple of hours. I am taking 1 or 2 classes every day and I am really enjoying that. The kids like to go to the kids' club, so it works out well. When we get home I take a shower, make lunch and then Drew makes it home from summer school. By the time we eat and get cleaned up it is 1:00 or after. Sometimes we go swimming at our neighborhood pool and usually one day a week we go to the water park right after I am finished at the gym. We are leading a very simple life and I like it like that!

Last weekend (Actually, we left on Thursday) we went back up to Oklahoma. We had a good time fishing, playing and fishing in the creek and riding the four-wheelers. We were only there 3 full days, so we didn't have a lot of time to just sit around and relax. We were busy most of the day every day. Drew caught a bass out of the pond that was HUGE! He estimated that it weighed 9-10 pounds! I caught several, also, just not as big as his. He does have photographic evidence of his fish, so I believe him! While fishing at the pond we watched a couple of beavers working away. It was really fun to watch them take lily pads and sticks back to their den. Is a beaver's home called a den? I can't remember and I'm not going to google it! We spent some time fishing at the creek, too. The fish at the creek are much smaller (perch, mostly), but we catch so many there that it keeps it exciting. Riding the four-wheelers is always fun, but it really stinks to get a face full of spider webs if you are riding in the front! So, we have to choose~ do we want to ride in the front and get all the webs or ride in the back and get covered with dirt! Personally, I choose the dirt over the webs!

Now that we are home, we are back to our simple life. Pily and her roommate, Nicole, are living with us this week until their apartment is ready. They are witnesses to how boring we truly are!

So, nothing exciting going on around here. We are two weeks from our Florida vacation, so we are looking forward to that. What I'm not liking, however, is how quickly summer is going by. Before you know it I will be counting down to Summer 2012!