A Really Fun Weekend

I am coming off the high of a really fun weekend with my husband and kids. Our friend Alex (who Steve and I have known since right about when we met, 14 years ago) got married this weekend in Dade City. Mom and Dad took the girls out on the boat, freeing up Steve and I to make a weekend getaway of it. The wedding was beautiful and a lot of fun. It was on a huge plantation-style piece of property called The Lange Farm. The bride rode in on a horse-drawn carriage and her dress was so beautiful and elegant. We got a hotel and stayed overnight in Dade City and drove back home on Sunday morning. When the girls made it back home it was time for Ali's nap so mommy and her baby girl cuddled up together for a nice snooze while Steve and Brooke pitched the tent in the backyard and went fishing in the river. By the time Ali and I woke up, they had caught a fish, cleaned it and were ready to fry it up on the camp fire. Their sleeping bags were in the tent and they were ready for a night under the stars. Ali and I joined them for a mini-fish fry, camp fire, and wienie roast. Then Steve and Brooke got snuggled in their sleeping bags and Mama and Ali retreated to the warmth of the house. This impromptu camp out worked out real well for me because I got to watch the Oscars in peace (not an easy task when Steve is around). I was really surprised they made it all night out in the tent. It got down into the 40's, but they were well prepared with all of Steve's fancy hunting gear to keep them warm. Here are some pictures of their camping excitement.

Japanese Student

The Hotel DeMoor will be fully booked through the month of March. We are getting a Japanese student who will be living with us for the entire month. We are very excited about it! Mission to Japan is a Christian organization that helps Japanese students travel to the USA to practice their English speaking skills, sight see, and study the Bible. We had heard about this program before, but until we had our house, there was never an empty room where we could accommodate a student. But we got a call a few weeks ago asking if we could host in March and all the details came together! We received a picture and bio about our student, Kotomi and she will be arriving March 3. The girls are excited, especially Brooke who just watched Kung Fu Panda for the first time.

Lizards for Carson

Carson James was dedicated on February 8, 2009. After his dedication we had a fun picnic at the park and Brooke and Sarah chased lizards around the playground. They caught one and transformed Grandma's fruit bowl into a lizard cage. Jill snapped this cute picture of Brooke and Sarah showing Carson their catch. He looks so interested!

Jeffrey's Getting Married!

Jeff proposed to his sweetie, Laura, last week while they were on a ski trip in Colorado. She said yes and we're all thrilled. They make a very cute couple and always seem to make each other very happy. Laura is a perfect fit for our family and is so sweet to my girls. No word yet on the when and where, but Brooke and Ali are excited that Uncle Jeff found his princess.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Have a Happy Valentine's Day! From my sweeties Brooke and Alixandra..

Valentine Mania!!

Mom came over for an afternoon of fun yesterday.. just in time to help with Valentines! Brooke had to make 11 for her class and Ali had to make 30 for our playgroup. We had out work cut out for us. Brooke knew exactly what she wanted to make and had described it all to me in detail the day before (true story: she was inspired by a window cling in the Arby's drive-thru). So we got to work and with a little bit of teamwork, we were done in no time!

Hollywood Studios

There are some major perks to having a Disney employee in the family. We took advantage of those perks on Thursday and went to Hollywood Studios. The girls were great (they always are)!

Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground

Here Brooke is getting ready to fire away at the arcade games on the Toy Story ride.

The Clines went with us and this is a picture of us getting ready to go into the Muppet 3D show

Ali tried to cool off in the Muppet fountain. It ended up being a warm day for February.. 82 degrees was our high.

This was the highlight of the day for me. Brooke is really into getting character autographs and pictures. She's never been scared of any of them and doesn't mind standing in line for an hour to meet the right character. Ali on the other hand could care less. She's not interested in getting close to them and will remind me the entire time we're standing in line that she doesn't want her picture taken. We got in line for Mickey Mouse towards to end of our day, and out of nowhere she says, "Mommy, I will be brave for Mickey Mouse!" And sure enough, she got her picture taken with him, no problem. I think Mickey could tell she was a little timid, because he slowly came right up to her, pressed his nose against her cheek and made a kissing sound. Then he pointed to his nose and leaned in for Ali to do the same. She leaned over and kissed his nose. I'd give just about anything to have that moment on film. It was so sweet!

Birthday Weekend

Last weekend was my birthday! It ended up being a marathon weekend since there was so much going on. On Friday night we had homegroup and Heather was so sweet to make me a chocolate key lime pie.. yum yum! On Saturday, Steve and I went to Sea World and saw Blake Shelton in concert at Bud and BBQ. It was a great show and we even got to go on Kraken! I haven't been on a roller coaster in sooo long. I've either had children with me or been pregnant. We had dinner at TuTu Tango which is a fun artsy restaurant were you can buy the art right off the walls. They also have performers strolling around the restaurant and artists there painting while you watch. It's a place Steve would never want to go to, but I got to play my birthday card and override Don Pablo's!! Then on Sunday we had Baby Carson's dedication at Journey Church. He was so adorable and so well behaved. We had a cook out afterwards at Trimble park. Then we headed home for a joint birthday celebration for Ken and myself. We played games and had cake. The highlight of the night came when Steve got out his new PA system (basically a big speaker with a microphone that he'll use for events and fundraisers). The girls entertained us with karaoke and had a blast doing it. Here are some videos.

Goofin' off at the mall

-- Post From My iPhone

Super Bowl 2009

We had another successful Super Bowl party this year, after taking a few years off to build our house. The game was great, although we would have liked to have seen the Cardinals take the win as the underdogs. We had the tv going inside and then also had the projector running outside with the game on a big screen. Good food, good friends and family!

This is Heather, Me and Steph with our Half-Time 3D-glasses on

Marie with Carson, Matt, Jill, Will and Jamie

Leann, Brooke and Ali