The Eddy Family, Party of 5

Disney World- Day 9

2010-07-26T17:27:00.002-04:00

Our "going home/back-to-reality" day had finally arrived. Sadly we all woke up (to an EARLY alarm), to load up in the car for the 10 hour drive back to North Carolina. Even with the heat and the boys being sick, we had an AMAZING week and made so many wonderful family memories. I can totally see how people become Disney World "addicts"-- I began asking Tyler when we can plan our next trip as soon as we started driving off Disney property!! ;-) I'm keeping my fingers crossed for 2012!!!!!

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Disney World Day 8

2010-07-26T17:19:00.003-04:00

This was originally supposed to be our "Going Home" day. But due to Tyler getting sick, we checked with the resort and we were able to extend our reservations by one night. By this time, Caiden started feeling not-so-great. But it was our last day and we had yet to visit EPCOT, so off we went!! Thankfully the heat had finally subsided, and it was a beautiful, sunny, mild-temperatured day, and it actually got quite chilly that night! We had a WONDERFUL day at EPCOT, and I would really have loved to spend more time there-- I really think you need two days for EPCOT, one for the "Land, Sea, Space, Air" side, and one for the "Countries" side. Our night (and our trip) ended with EPCOT's not-to-miss SPECTACULAR fireworks show. We saw a lot of fireworks shows while at Disney, but EPCOT's was by far the best!!!

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Disney World Day 7

2010-07-26T17:05:00.002-04:00

We managed to get in bed at a decent hour the previous night, so we were able to get up early and make it to Animal Kingdom shortly after the park opened. We were able to go on, and do everything today that we weren't able to do the first time we went to Animal Kingdom. We enjoyed the park MUCH more being there first thing in the morning, as opposed to later in the day! After we had our fill of animals, we headed back to Downtown Disney to finish our souvenir shopping as our trip was quickly coming to a close! Then we headed back to our room to freshen up before our dinner reservations at The California Grill restaurant atop Disney's Contemporary Resort. I had read that this restaurant was one of THE best in all of Disney, and that you could also watch Magic Kingdom's fireworks show from the top. What a NEAT experience!! We went outside onto the hotel's rooftop viewing area to watch the fireworks. They even had speakers on the roof coordinating the same music and narration for us that was playing throughout Magic Kingdom!! Then it was back inside for our super Gourmet dinner. We have NEVER experienced a dinner like this, and although it was especially tasty, I'm not sure if we'll do it again- we're more of a burgers & fries kind of family. But it was definitely a cool experience, and I highly recommend experiencing a gourmet dinner at least ONCE in your life!!!

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Disney World Day 5 & Day 6

2010-07-26T16:50:00.002-04:00

**I'm including two slide-shows in this post because Day 5 is super short. It has maybe 6 pictures?!**

We decided to take a break from the parks for a day and head over to check out Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park. This time it was just me and the kids. Poor Tyler was feeling miserable on this day, and decided it was best if he stay behind and rest up for the rest of the week. The kids and I had a great time together playing on the water slides, but Tyler was definitely missed. Although I really think this "day off" helped out a lot! He came and picked us up from the park that evening and we headed over to Downtown Disney for dinner and to play at the Disney Quest huge video-game/arcade center.

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The following day we left Disney World for the day and headed up the road to visit Sea World. A HUGE thank-you, once again, to Anheuser Busch for the "Hero Salute" program that they offer year in and year out for us military families!!!

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Disney World Day 4

2010-07-25T07:46:00.002-04:00

This day was our BIG day!!! We decided to purchase tickets to attend Mickey's-Not-So-Scary Halloween Party event that evening. Kids, adults, and even Disney characters were dressed in Halloween costumes! They had a special parade, and special fireworks, and there were even places for the kids to "trick-or-treat". Between the three of them, they received enough candy to last a lifetime!!! We also decided to let the girls experience the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and let Caiden experience the new Pirate's League- perfect experiences to make our Halloween party even more fun!!! What another GREAT day!!!!

**This is the LONG slideshow, but SO worth it! :-)**

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Disney World Day 3

2010-07-25T07:39:00.002-04:00

After staying out past 2 am the night before, we got a VERY late start the next morning. I don't think anyone got up before 10am!!! We started our day at Animal Kingdom. It was sooo hot and since we were there mid-afternoon, it was a little too crowded for us. We didn't stay too long, and decided to go back to Hollywood Studios. We spent the rest of the day there, again taking advantage of Extra Magic Hours.

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Disney World Day 2

2010-07-25T07:27:00.002-04:00

We got up early, nice and refreshed and ready to head to our first park. We chose to start out at Disney's Hollywood Studios. This park ended up being one of our favorites!!! After spending a full day here, we headed back to our resort to cool off, eat and freshen up before heading out to Magic Kingdom that evening. One of the HUGE perks to staying on property is the "Extra Magic Hours" where certain parks open early or close late and allow only resort guests entrance. This perk was so awesome and beneficial, that if we go back, we won't even consider staying off-property. Magic Kingdom was open that night for Extra Magic Hours until 2am. I remember telling Tyler, "We don't have to stay until it closes, let's just go and stay until the kids are tired and ready to go home." Well, we stayed until it closed!!! We had so much fun and were able to go on EVERY major Magic Kingdom ride with little or NO wait at all! What a GREAT day!!!

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Disney World Day 1

2010-07-25T07:18:00.003-04:00

We drove down to Orlando Friday afternoon and didn't get in until after midnight. So our first day was devoted to touring our resort and Downtown Disney. We wanted to make sure we got to bed at a decent hour and were well rested to hit the parks the next day! We stayed at Disney's Port Orleans Resort- Riverside, and LOVED it!! It was very "Song of the South"-ish, and was inspired by rural Louisiana. It was just beautiful!!!

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The Happiest Place on Earth!!! Disney World- Oct. 2009

2010-07-23T11:04:00.004-04:00

I think every year since we've lived here in NC, I've wanted to go to Disney World. Something else always got in the way- mostly a shortage of funds. In January 2009, Tyler and I seriously began talking about going, especially after the wonderful people at Disney announced a military promotion SOOOO GREAT that there was no way we COULDN'T go and take advantage of the huge discounts they were offering us. I am so thankful for this promotion as it allowed us to splurge a little and do things at Disney that we wouldn't necessarily have done since our ticket and resort prices were so great! Our trip was FABULOUS, minus a couple things we could've done without. In doing some research and talking with different people, we decided to take our trip in October. We wanted it to be warm enough to enjoy the water parks, but not scorching hot. Well thank you Mother Nature for the RECORD SETTING temps that you bestowed on us during our week at the "happiest place on Earth". Seriously-record setting, we're talking High's in the mid to upper 90's in the middle of October!!! It was SOOOOO HOT!!! And the other "minor" thing we could've done without??? Poor Tyler ended up getting pretty sick only a few days into our trip. Although we never had him officially tested, and we really probably should have, we are pretty sure he ended up coming down with the H1N1, or Swine Flu, Virus. Yup, at Disney World. Combine that with the heat, and well, I'm pretty sure you can guess how his Disney trip was!! Poor guy was a trooper though, and between him and Caiden (who started not feeling well on the last day) we probably went through an entire bottle of Advil.

Now, part of the reason why I have procrastinated blogging is due to this Disney World post. Why, you ask? Because I have over 1000 Disney World pictures on my computer to sort through and pick the very best to share!!! Seriously. Over ONE THOUSAND pictures. Gotta love this new-age digital camera stuff! Again, the problem of how to present these pictures weighed on my mind. I have decided to tell our Disney World story in a Day-by-Day Slideshow format. Some days only have a couple pictures, one day has about 100 pictures, but on average their are about 40 pictures in a slideshow. So sit back, relax and enjoy looking at our Disney World Vacation pictures!!!!

October 2009

2010-07-23T08:04:00.008-04:00

October had to be one of the BEST months of 2009!!!! It was the month we had been waiting for ALL year- two words- DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!! More about that in the next post, though. This "October" post is about everything ELSE that we did in October- Kami's first field trip, school projects, another night at Cotillion, and of course Halloween!!!

School Projects
Madi and Caiden both had school projects that they needed to complete before going on vacation. Madison had to choose a person from the Civil War period, make a poster board about him/her, and then dress up like them. She had to present her report to the class since we were going to be in Florida when the rest of the 5th graders would be presenting their "Living History Museum". Madi chose "Molly Pitcher". Caiden's project was to make some type of diagram of the phases of the moon. Both kids did a wonderful job and received 100%!!!!!!

Kamrynn's First Field Trip
The day before we left for Florida, Kamrynn's class went on their first (and only)field trip- to the Wayne County Fair. Tyler had taken the day off, so we were both able to go which Kami LOVED!!!

Cotillion

Halloween Parties
I made some yummy, "spooky" eyeball cupcakes for Caiden's class for Halloween, and then headed to Kamrynn's class to help with their "Fall Festival".

Pumpkins & Costumes & Candy, OH MY!!!
We decided to do things a little differently this year and paint pumpkins instead of carve. With all of the excitement from Disney, Halloween really snuck up on us and everything was very last minute! Just a side note- Tyler tried to re-create Caiden's face paint that he had at Disney. He did an okay job... but just wait till you see our Not-So-Scary-Halloween pictures... Caiden's face looked AWESOME!!!

September 2009

2010-07-18T11:13:00.011-04:00

September was a GREAT month.... my sister Stacey and my nephew, Kayleb came to visit us for the first time!!! We had such a GREAT week together, although it went by WAY too fast! The month was also FILLED with SOCCER- big surprise, I know. This time Kamrynn decided to give soccer a go, and although she had fun during practices, games weren't really her thing. She had more fun twirling her ponytails and watching her teammates! She sure looked cute out there, though! Madi also began her first year in Cotillion, and we had an overnight visit with my cousins from California!!

Swansboro Soccer Tournament & Caiden's Fall Season Begins
We spent Labor Day weekend down in Swansboro, near the coast, for a soccer tournament. This tournament "opened up" the Fall Soccer Season for Caiden's year-round soccer team.

Stacey and Kayleb Visit
We were sooo excited when Stacey and Kayleb came to visit for a week!!! We tried to squeeze in as much FUN sister/cousin time as we could!!! We had a blast and cannot wait until they come back for another visit!!

Kami Does Soccer

This was Kamrynn's last game of the season. And this is where she sat the ENTIRE time. She REFUSED to play. I think we'll stick with dance!!!

Derrick & Timothy Visit
My cousins took a trip to New York, D.C., and Philadelphia, and made a pit stop at our house for a night before continuing on to Charlotte. We hadn't seen them since Christmas 2009 and the kids enjoyed spending time together. I even made a cake for the boys since it was their birthday week!

Cotillion
At the end of 4th Grade, Madison received an invitation to attend Carolina Junior Cotillion during her 5th Grade year. Here is a description taken from the Registration Card: "The Carolina Junior Cotillion classes are held in an atmosphere conducive to practicing self-control and good manners. Emphasis is placed on expressing respect for oneself and for others. Along with dancing, the classes encourage the children to observe small courtesies. Good manners formed early in life are those that remain with us forever." They teach basic etiquette and basic formal (waltz, fox trot, cha cha, etc.) and informal (Line dancing, electric slide etc.) dances. The boys and girls all dress up, and let me tell you- it was SOOO neat to see everyone looking even better than their "Sunday best". Fifth graders have their own Cotillion and the girls all wear white gloves. Next year will be a combined 6th, 7th, and 8th grade group. Here are a couple pictures from her very first Cotillion!

August 2009

2010-07-18T11:03:00.010-04:00

August brought the summer to a close by squeezing in the last of fun day trips and activities, and began a new school year- to include Kamrynn beginning Kindergarten, a new season of sports and dance, and Kamrynn's 5th Birthday!!

Museums with Friends
My friend Missy and I, took my kids and her youngest son Noah to a movie and a couple museums up in Raleigh. The one museum we went to had a special "Pirates/Blackbeard" exhibit going on, and the kids LOVED it!! We had a great day!

First Day of Dance

Open House
The first day of dance also happened to be the same night as Open house. We went to Kamrynn's new Kindergarten class first and met her teacher, Mrs. Parks. We actually already new her as she was Caiden's Teacher Assistant in Kindergarten!! Next it was on to meet Caiden's 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Galloway. Notice there aren't any pictures of Madi with her teachers, because she ended up getting sick while we were meeting them and the poor thing threw up in the classroom!!! That should have told us right there that we were in for a rough year!!! :-)

First Day of School
Hard to believe I was sending all my babies to school this year!!! I had an especially hard time sending Kamrynn... was definitely harder on ME than her!! And after the first day of school, we always celebrate by taking the kids for Ice Cream!! They chose milkshakes from Cookout! YUM!!!

Kamrynn's 5!!!

Sharing Birthday Cupcakes with my New Class

July 2009

2010-07-17T11:03:00.014-04:00

July was a pretty low-key month, although we had a wonderfully busy Fourth of July weekend filled with a Carolina Railhawks soccer game complete with an after-game fireworks show, a beach trip and fireworks at home. The only other "blog-worthy" activities were Kamrynn's swimming lessons and Madison's 10th birthday celebration!!!

Carolina Railhawks Game
One of our newest favorite family activities is attending Carolina Railhawks soccer games. They are a semi-pro soccer team that plays in Raleigh. They let the kids onto the field to form a pre-game "tunnel" that the players walk through. After this game on July 3, they let EVERYONE on the field to watch the fireworks with the Railhawks players. It was such a fun atmosphere... kids were running around EVERYWHERE trying to get all of the players autographs!!!

July 4th Beach Trip & Festivities at Home

Kamrynn Learns to Swim

Madi Turns 10
For her 10th birthday, Madi got to have a slumber party/sleepover! And then on her actual birthday we had a family celebration where she and Kamrynn received a joint birthday present... Miley Cyrus concert tickets!!! The girls were SOOO surprised, and SOOO excited!!! They couldn't wait for November to arrive!

WOW!!!! It's been a LLLOONNNGG time!!!

2010-07-11T08:15:00.001-04:00

I cannot believe it has almost been a year since I've last posted an update on here! My sincere apologies to you loyal friends and family members who keep stopping by hoping for an update only to find that there is none. Alas, there is hope.... this is my attempt to jump back in to the blogging world! So much has happened since my last post a year ago, we have had: 5 birthdays, 2 Dance Recitals, 1 Major Hair-cut (I do believe I posted pics of that), Kami has started and completed her first year of school, 2 visits from Grandparents, 1 Sister/Nephew/Cousin visit, 1 major medical diagnosis, 1 new family member (4-legged, not 2-legged), numerous Field trips, 1 amazing family vacation, and oh so much more!!! I have been wracking (sp?) my brain all morning long trying to figure out the best way to document the past year and get you all caught up to speed, without going into EDDY OVERLOAD. I think I am going to attempt a month-by-month "Year in Review" of sorts via pictures... LOTS of pictures!!! So sit back, relax, and ENJOY, and hopefully it won't be long before I get to post CURRENT up-to-date reports!!!!! Wish me luck!!!!
**DISCLAIMER: Due to the large number of pictures, and in order to make sure you don't miss anything, be sure to scroll ALL THE WAY DOWN to the bottom of the page!! On the right hand side of the page, you can also find where the posts are listed and click to view by "month"!!! APRIL 2009 has already been kicked off this front page!

June 2009

2010-07-11T07:20:00.011-04:00

June was filled with Dance Recitals, a neighborhood visitor, End of Year awards at school, a major haircut for another of the Eddy children, a trip to the theater, StageStruck Summer Camps, and our first beach trip of the summer!

Kami's First Dance Recital
Kami took a class with two of her very good friends, called "KinderDance 1" where they introduced ballet and tumbling. She LOVED it!!!! They danced to "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear", and just like her big sister, she absolutely LOVED being up on that stage!!!

Neighborhood Visitor
One morning Pepper started barking like crazy. Imagine my surprise when I looked out the window to see what she was barking at and saw THIS.....

....a DEER!!!! She walked right out of the wooded area in front of our house and made her way down the street!! We have deer in our area, but I never thought I'd see one in our front yard!

2nd & 4th Grade Awards Assemblies
Caiden and Madison had a wonderful 2nd and 4th grade year at school, and they both received numerous awards at the end of the year!! Tyler and I were very proud of all of their achievements!

Kami gets a Hair Cut!!!
Take a look at Kamrynn's "Guitar Hero" picture to get an idea of the "before". But here is the "after". And she loves short hair so much, we have yet to go back to long hair!!

High School Musical 2
One of the older girls that Madi has gotten to know from StageStruck is super, amazingly talented and was cast in NC Theater's production of "High School Musical 2". So of course we HAD to take a girl's trip to see her!! Hailey did a WONDERFUL job and we even got to meet "Gabriella" afterwards, which Kylie and Kamrynn thought was the coolest!!!

StageStruck Storyteller and Summer STARS
Last summer Kamrynn was FINALLY old enough to participate in her first StageStruck activity. It was no surprise that she not only loved it, but was a natural up there! And Madi continued her tradition of attending the two week STARS camp. The theme for 2009 was "50's music".

BEACH!!!!!!!
Perhaps our favorite summer activity!!! Kami learned to "Boogie Board" on this trip, and we discovered our new favorite beach... Topsail Beach.

May 2009

2010-07-10T13:00:00.011-04:00

According to my pictures, May was a BUSY month for us!!! May wrapped up Caiden's first full Goldsboro Sting Soccer season which included a weekend tournament in Wilmington, a field trip to Bald Head Island to see the lighthouse "Old Baldy" with Madi's 4th Grade Class, Caiden's Field Day, a visit from some old friends, some new "toys", and the start of summer!!!!! Here are some of the "best of the best" pictures!!!!

Soccer Games and Seaside Classic 2009 Soccer Tournament in Wilmington, NC

Bald Head Island 4th Grade Field Trip with Madi
This was such a GREAT field trip! Tyler even took the day off and went with us. We had to ride a ferry over to the Bald Head Island to get to "Old Baldy", which according to Madi is the oldest and smallest of the NC Lighthouses. And we even got to go inside the lighthouse and climb to the top!

Caiden's 2nd Grade Field Day

Fun with the Sealock's
We met the Sealock's when we were stationed in England, and Robin and I ran into each other shortly after they had moved here to NC back in 2005. Sadly for us, they moved "home" to Georgia in 2006, but we were so happy when they came for a visit and we got to catch up with them and their wonderful family!!!

New "Toys"
What's more fun than a trampoline and Guitar Hero?!?!?

Slip-n-Slide Fun
Welcome Summer 2009!!!

April 2009

2010-07-10T12:36:00.004-04:00

Looking back, I've already shared pics of our biggest events in April 2009- Easter and the addition of Tiger to our family. The only other "major" event this month was the Missoula Children's Theater production of "Robin Hood" that Madi was in.

And here are a couple cute random pictures of Kami roller-skating...

...and Caiden (pre-haircut) playing soccer.

Bird Strike!!!

2009-07-12T09:15:00.001-04:00

So back in April, when the kids were still in school, I was driving home from picking them up. I kept glancing from the road to my rearview mirror, so I could see Caiden as we were talking about his day. I looked from Caiden to the road and saw something fly at me, I heard a big crash, I screamed, and I said, "What the heck was that?!?!" I happened to look out my driver's side window and noticed that my side view mirror was pushed up against my window, and the mirror was dangling from it... the next second it was GONE!!! Still totally confused about what has happening, I quickly glanced in my rear view mirror again, just to make sure that there weren't any cars passing in the opposite direction that I could've possibly collided with as I was talking to Caiden.. who knows, maybe I drifted?!?! Nope, no cars... GOOD!!! So I pull over to the side of the road so I can turn around and go find my mirror, and as I do this, I notice something fluttering in my window... it's a FEATHER!!! I hit a bird, or maybe the bird hit me! Who knows.. it all happened so fast! It was quite possibly the weirdest driving experience I've ever had. So I retrieved my mirror and also searched a little for this poor (but STUPID) bird, but I never found it. This bird did quite some damage, too... but thankfully, my side view mirror has now been replaced!

My poor mirror!!!!

The feather....

Bird blood on the back of my mirror?

Possible bird beak that caused the deep chip in this paint?

Easter 2009

2009-07-11T08:58:00.009-04:00

See, I told you I was behind....

For the most part, Easter was very quiet and uneventful here at our house.. which isn't always a bad thing, especially where kids are concerned! :-)

We kicked off our Easter festivities with the annual egg hunt for Kamrynn at A-Day-Away (my work). Since Kamrynn will start school in the fall, this was her last Easter Egg hunt at ADA.

Kami and Kylie.... BFF's

Saturday night we colored our eggs. We had a lot of fun dye-ing eggs this year, and it was extremely evident how "grown" my kids are becoming. I think this was the first time that all I had to do was prepare the dye. Very bittersweet to see them becoming so independent.

I know Tyler will LOVE that I put this picture on here! ;-)

The finished products....

And in the morning the kids awoke to Easter Baskets that the Easter Bunny had left for them!!

Our biggest Easter week event was our new family addition. We decided to add (again) to our family zoo... but since our 2 dog combo didn't work out last year, we decided to give a 2 cat combo a try. We love our first cat Belle, but she is NOTHING like Zoe, the cat we had in England. Zoe was the friendliest, most tolerant, and most loving cat EVER!! She was like a dog in so many ways... whenever we'd take walks around the base in England she would follow us to a certain spot and wait for us until we returned, and would follow us home! Belle, on the other hand, hides out all day, and VERY rarely lets the kids hold her, and will only occasionally let them pet her. I was really hoping we could luck out and get a friendly kitten reminiscent of Zoe. So we surprised the kids one evening and went to go pick up our new kitten which the kids named "Tiger".

Tiger has been such a fun addition to our house, and so far seems to be MUCH more personable than Belle. Even Tyler likes having "little buddy" around. And Pepper now has her own personal chew toy. Actually, Pepper and Tiger get along REALLY well, and it's so much fun to watch them play together.

Belle, on the other hand, is tolerant of Tiger... but only to a certain extent. She would still rather not be bothered... but she's adjusting!

Tyler's New Toy

2009-07-09T16:10:00.001-04:00

Okay Mom... this one's for YOU!!!!!

So way back when we first moved to NC (five years ago) and I was pregnant with Kami, we knew there were two things we had to buy. Number one being a house, and number two being a new car that would accomodate our growing family. So Tyler, being the good husband and father that he is, let me get the new van. And he would once again drive the '93 Accord- which was now 11 years old, and after spending three years in dreary, wet England, was slowly starting to fall apart. We knew that once the van was paid off, it would be Tyler's turn to get a car upgrade.

When Mom came out, Tyler and I decided to go on a "date" and take advantage of a free baby-sitter. We decided that instead of dinner and a movie, we'd get a head start on the car-shopping. We had just sent off our final van payment, and with Mom at home with the kids, we could "shop" and test-drive without three extra voices all giving their opinions!!! We went out with full intentions of "just looking", and surprised not only Mom, but even ourselves when we came home with THIS.....

Well, we really didn't come home with the car that night... that's a whole OTHER story. Short version... it had to be delivered from SC since they couldn't find a local car with the color/options that Tyler wanted. Unfortunately Mom never got a chance to see the car and has been biting at the bit to see pictures... so here ya go!!!

Tyler not only LOVES his new car, but TOTALLY deserves it!! He has worked so hard the past 10 years to provide for us, and has sacrificed a LOT so that the kids and I could have what we wanted.

So I couldn't be happier for him that he now has a car he absolutely LOVES to drive!!! In the meantime, I'm already dreaming about what I'll upgrade to when this is paid off!!!! ;-)

Fun with Grandma

2009-07-09T15:45:00.000-04:00

It was such a treat to have Mom come and visit us earlier this year. We timed her visit perfectly (on purpose) so that she would be able to be with us for Caiden's 8th birthday, Madi's "Beauty and the Beast" play, and Kami's "Parent Watch Week" at dance! Her three week visit was jam-packed, and unfortunately flew by WAY too fast!!! The kids had so much "Fun with Grandma" while she was here, as they always do, and we cannot WAIT until Grandma (and Grandpa) can come visit again!!!

Madi and Grandma after a "Beauty" performance... LOVE this picture!!!

We had some more "Fun with Grandma" the night before she left, and took all kinds of fun and silly pictures...

Love you, Mom!!!!! Thanks again for a GREAT visit and for ALL of your help!!! Not sure if Tyler and I could've survived the "Beauty" weeks without you!!! And thanks for holding down the fort at home, Dad- love you, too!! :-)

Catch-Up.... Again!!!

2009-07-09T07:37:00.004-04:00

I don't know why I do this to myself... once again, I have fallen embarrassingly behind on my blog. How far behind you ask???? Well, let's just say that I still have pictures to post from when my Mom came to visit... in March!!!!!! My short-term goal is to get slowly caught up over the next couple of weeks. Luckily the kids summer camps and activities have slowed down, and I am nearing my week off from work, so I am hopeful that I'll be able to accomplish my goal. Long term goal?!? To stay caught up, and with all three kids being in school this year (sniff, sniff), I am confident I can make that happen! But in the meantime, make sure to visit frequently over the next couple of weeks, to "ketchup" with the Eddy's! :-)

Who IS this kid?!?!?

2009-05-13T14:35:00.003-04:00

Okay, so ya'll have seen me admit before my "perfectionist" tendencies... one of which has to do with my blog-posts. I like to post everything in chronological order, although even when my posts "post" and you view the blog, the order is a little backwards. So I am totally going against my "tendencies" for this post... but once again I am sooooooo far behind, and I just HAVE to get this post and these pictures up!!!

For the last year and a half, Caiden has been growing out his hair and sporting the "shaggy" look. We've had occasional trims when it's gotten too long and I couldn't see his eyes, but for the most part, we've let it grow! Tyler and I would've bet money that he was going to cut it last year during the summer, but NOPE he survived. I think it was mostly because he spent most of the summer in the DRY California heat and had constant access to my parent's pool. But regardless, he survived the summer and hot NC fall with his long hair. About a week ago, we experienced a heat wave here in NC. Caiden came in from playing outside dripping with sweat, and announced, "I think I'm ready to cut my hair. It is TOO HOT!!!" So I quickly called up our hair-dresser and made the appointment. Yesterday was the BIG day, and I made sure to take these BEFORE pictures....

Due to an extremely busy evening, I wasn't able to get AFTER pictures yesterday. However I took some first thing this morning after we styled his new 'do.

Caiden LOVES his new hair-cut and so do we!!!!!! I haven't seen his eyes and ears in sooooo long. My handsome boy is BACK!!!!!!

Tale as old as time.....

2009-03-29T12:02:00.002-04:00

FINALLY!!!!! Here is the post I have been wanting to post for soooooooo long now!!! As ya'll know, Madi was in StageStruck's Premier performance of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast". We have never been a part of a production like this before, and I'm not sure if we ever will again. I can only describe the kids, crew, parents, and the entire experience itself as simply "MAGICAL"!!!!!!!! I've been looking forward to this show for over a year now, and even told Mom about it way back in March of 2008, so that she could plan a trip out for the event. And boy was I glad she was here!!! I don't think any of us would have survived the "craziness" if she hadn't been here to help!!! I was so happy and proud to have her here, and to be able to share not only a FANTASTIC show with her, but to share what's become such a HUGE part of mine and Madi's lives with her!!! She even got in on the action and played a HUGE part in the construction of the "Little Shakers" costumes that I ended up making. THANK YOU, MOM!!! I couldn't have done it without you!!!!!

Here is a little "montage" I put together this weekend. These are just a few of my favorite pictures that I took during the production. These pictures do not do the amazingly talented kids, or the parents who worked tirelessly to make ALL of the breathtaking costumes and sets justice, but I hope you enjoy!!

Madi, the "townsperson"

Madi, the "Fork"

Here is one of my favorite numbers in the entire show "Be Our Guest"... it was truly a sight to see on-stage... all of the dancing plates, napkins, and utensils!!! It's a little long, but SOOOOOOO worth view!! Madi is the "fork" that chases Lumiere off-stage!!!

Although at times it seemed like we were LIVING at StageStruck, the end result was soooo worth it, and it's an experience that Madi and I will never forget!!! BRAVO!!!!! to the cast and crew!!!!!

Caiden's 8!!!!

2009-03-29T11:46:00.000-04:00

In the midst of BEAUTY and the BEAST, Grandma's visit, Soccer, and life in general, we somehow managed to find time to celebrate Caiden's 8th birthday!!!! Because we were soooooo busy (so busy that we ended up present shopping on his birthday while he was at soccer practice!!!), his celebration carried over into the next day. I always make cupcakes on the kids birthdays for them to take to school. However, this year Caiden had soccer practice on his birthday so I gave him the choice of cupcakes at school or after practice. He chose practice!!! And it was so cute because after practice I called the team over and told them I had cupcakes for Caiden's birthday, but they needed to sing to him first. I really wasn't expecting a bunch of 10 and 11 year old boys to agree to that, but to my surprise, on the count of 3 they all gave Caiden a very rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday"!!! After practice we headed home and had a wonderful Taco Bell birthday dinner, and opened presents. On Saturday we actually went out to eat at McCall's BBQ (Caiden's choice) and celebrated again with cake and Ice Cream! Even though it was kinda crazy/hectic, I think Caiden had a great 8th birthday!!!

The theme that seemed to surround his birthday this year, was Star Wars and Soccer!!

Yay!! Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie from Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Another action figure to add to the collection...

Caiden asked for a "Clone Trooper" cake this year. So this is my attempt....

I never could have done it without Tyler's help, though. I baked the cake, he cut and "molded" the Clone Trooper, and then I made and colored the frosting and decorated it!

Happy 8th Birthday, Caiden!!!!!

Jump Rope for Heart

2009-03-27T14:30:00.003-04:00

This year's "Jump Rope for Heart" event took place on a Tuesday, which meant I could go!!! Yay!! It seems like the last few years it has been on a Mon., Wed., or Fri., so I was very happy that I could go this year. And at the kids' school, they only allow 2nd graders and up participate, so this was the first year that both Madi AND Caiden were able to jump! Kamrynn tagged along of course, and had fun "jumping", too!!

Fourth Grade was up first, and I barely made it. I had to take my Dad to the airport in Raleigh that morning and rushed home as quick as I could to see Madi jump!!!

After Madi was done jumping, Kami and I went home to eat some lunch and "freshen" up before we headed back for the 2nd Graders!!!

Kami LOVED the Hula-hoops!!!

A BIG "Thank You!!!" to everyone who helped Madi and Caiden out!! They were able to raise $100 together for the American Heart Association, and they couldn't have done it without you!! They received their "prizes" the other day and couldn't wait to show them off!!!

Crazy kids!!! :-)

Cutie-Pie

2009-03-26T13:33:00.000-04:00

I love taking pictures of all my kids, and maybe it's because Kamrynn isn't in school yet and she's always around, but I really love taking pictures of her. And she loves having her picture taken. She is always saying "Mommy take a picture of me", and she'll sit and pose until I tell her "That's enough!" Her facial expressions crack me up. I recently bought her the CUTEST hat, and of course had to take some pictures. I may be biased, but these pictures were just TOO CUTE to not share!!! Enjoy!

Grandpa

2009-03-26T13:15:00.000-04:00

We were all blessed at the beginning of this year to have my Dad come out and stay with us for about three weeks. He timed his visit so that he could be here to watch the kids for mine and Tyler's anniversary, and also be here to help out while Tyler went TDY to Vegas for a couple of weeks! With Madi and I being sooooo busy with "Beauty and te Beast", it was GREAT to have him here to help out!

The really sad thing is, is that I've noticed that as my kids get older, I find myself taking out my camera less and less when the Grandparents are around. When they were little and my parents would visit, I'd snap TONS of random pictures, now I'm lucky if I get 10 pics of the kids with G-Pa and G-Ma. Guess I'll have to remember that next time they visit.

Thanks again Dad, for all of your help while you were here, and for another great visit!!! I am so lucky to have a Dad like you! :-) I love you!!!! Can't wait to do it again!!

Paramount Gala

2009-03-26T11:50:00.003-04:00

On February 14, 2009, the Paramount Theater had it's 1st Anniversay Gala Celebration. Back in 2005 the Paramount Theater burnt down a week or so before StageStruck's performance of "Peter Pan". It was a HUGE community effort to rebuild the theater. Last year, StageStruck was able to be the first group to perform in the rebuilt Paramount. So this year, they had a 1st anniversary celebration. Hailey Best is an AMAZINGLY talented StageStruck alumni, who is currently spending her Senior year of High School at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Madi has known her for a couple of years now and absolutely adores her!! Hailey was asked to perform at the Gala, and she thought it would be fun to have a couple of younger StageStruck kids perform with her! Madi and I were both THRILLED when she called and asked if Madi would want to perform with her! They sang the song "Practically Perfect" from the Broadway version of "Mary Poppins". I wasn't able to upload the video on here, cuz I guess the file is too big, but I did upload it onto YouTube, so you can see their performance here. This is just their dress rehearsal performance, as I wasn't allowed to film during the real thing. Don't you love Madi's shoe choice??? She's trying to start a new fashion trend... Crocs with dresses! :-) As you can see from the pictures, she had a different dress during the actual Gala as well. Liam, the little boy, was in "Velveteen Rabbit" with Madi, and is a great little performer, as well!!!

Madi, as "Jane"

"Jane" and "Michael"

Madi, Hailey, and Liam

Madi and the amazing Kate McMillan!! She was "Belle" and has been accepted at the #1 school for Music Theater in the country... Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. I'm sure her name will be in lights in the very near future!

Madi thought it was pretty cool, because she actually got to perform TWICE!!! The cast of "Beauty and the Beast" opened the Gala with the song "Belle". So she performed in that, and then ran back to change and get mic'd up for "Practically Perfect". What a great night!!!! Thank you Hailey, for such a wonderful experience!!!!

Backstage with friends before "Belle"

Warming up their BEAUTYful voices!!

Beast of the East

2009-03-24T14:00:00.000-04:00

Caiden, and the rest of his U-11 Goldsboro Sting Soccer team, participated in the 2009 Beast of the East Soccer Tournament the first weekend in February.

The GOOD:

Tyler made it back into town (from his two-week TDY in Vegas) just in time, AND Grandpa was still visiting!!!

The BAD:

The previous week in practice Caiden claims he was slide-tackled by a teammate, and one afternoon when I picked him up from school I noticed he was limping pretty bad. So off to the Dr. we went. Caiden had a mild sprain, but the doc said if he rested it ALL week (i.e. NO practice) then he could possibly play in the tourny.

The UGLY:

Caiden's ankle was better, but nowhere NEAR 100%, and so he really didn't play much at all, and when he did, he wasn't himself... I think he was a little nervous he would re-injure his ankle. And to make matters worse... we lost all three games.

Oh well... it was a GREAT experience and great for team bonding!!!

Pre-Game Warm-Ups

Caiden, getting some game-time action.

Kami, catching some rays

Kami and G-Pa

Poor Caiden... being only "8" on a team of mostly 10 and 11 year olds does not always have it's advantages. He always manages to get matched up against the biggest kid on the opposing team.

But this NEVER slows him down or hinders his determination!!!

SNOW!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-22T10:54:00.000-04:00

We had such an exciting, albeit COLD, winter this year in North Carolina! Our first sign of "snow" was actually a week before Thanksgiving! It wasn't anything major and didn't even "stick", but it was definitely a sign of things to come for the winter.

We experienced our biggest snowfall yet, since living here in Goldsboro, this past January. It was actually Inaguration day, and the kids were home on a winter break, and what made this particular snowfall even more magical, was that Grandpa (my Dad) was still visiting from sunny California!!!

Being a California girl myself, I must admit that this was probably the ideal snowfall for me... GORGEOUS to look at, fun to play in for a bit, and melted away within 72 hours!!! I think all in all we received at least a good 6" of snow. The kids had a blast, and made multiple trips outside to play. You see, since we aren't accustomed to snow, we don't have to proper attire, so the kids would go out and play for about 20 minutes, their clothes would get wet, they would go from happy/smiling, to freezing, crying, whining FREAK OUT mode in a matter of seconds, we would have to run inside strip off their clothes, put on warm, dry clothes and pump some hot chocolate into their bodies. FUN TIMES, I tell ya! It is for this reason that I am glad we don't deal with snow on a regular basis, although maybe if we did we'd be a little more prepared and used to the snow! Anyways... enjoy the pictures from our Winter Wonderland!!!!

Before....

Round One... The snow was finally starting to come down pretty good!!!

Madi soooo happy to have SNOW!!!

I LOVE these pics of Kami and Caiden with their snow-covered eyelashes!!!!

Snow angels in the front yard. There was still a lot more snow to come!!!

During....

Round 2.... There was a good amount of snow on the ground, snow was STILL falling, Tyler came home from work, and everyone headed out to play!!!

Kami's 2nd Snow Angel attempt!!!

Tyler taking time out from teaching the kids the art of snowball making, to pose for a picture!!

Grandpa building a Snowman!!!

Me, Dad, and Pepper

After....

Our mailbox!!!

10 YEARS!!!!!

2009-03-22T09:43:00.000-04:00

So back in January, Tyler and I celebrated our 10 year Wedding Anniversary. VERY hard to believe that we have been married for 10 years... where in the world does the time go?!?!?! But I guess that must be a good thing then, right??? For spending 10+ years (if you count the couple years we were together in high school) with the same person would have to consist of more good than bad in order for it to "fly by"!!!!

Tyler and I were fortunate enough to have my Dad out here visiting during our anniversary weekend.... so off we went to Myrtle Beach for a couple nights! This was the first time we had been away from all three kids for such an extended length of time. Our weekend didn't exactly start out that way we had imagined. We drove around Myrtle Beach for over 2 hours hungry, tired and frustrated trying to find our hotel. No one had told us that Myrtle Beach is broken up into like a gazillion sections w/ at least one trillion 13th streets, Main Streets, 28th streets, etc. I think we drove to every "12th St" - where our hotel was SUPPOSED to be - except the one ours was at. We seriously almost turned around and headed home... but we FINALLY made it. We had a nice Saturday afternoon of shopping (sans kids), going to the movies, and taking a walk on the beach. That was perhaps the best part of the weekend... the walk on the beach, where Tyler surprised me with not only this....

He picked it out all by himself!! He was quite proud... and so was I! :-)

...but another proposal. Since we didn't do things the "traditional way", he decided there was no better time than our 10 year anniversary to finally propose. Of course I was in tears and the moment was spoiled (but made all the more memorable) by some onlookers in a hotel balcony yelling first "DON'T DO IT", and then coming out and cheering/clapping. Afterwards we went and had a very nice, quiet dinner at an adorable rustic Steakhouse.

Sunday morning we headed home and stopped at a very cute little winery, had a tour and did a little taste testing.

A couple of views from our room...

We had a wonderful weekend together... Grandpa and the kids survived, so did we, and we realized that we need to get away together a little more often!!! Here's to another 10 years to my husband, amazing father of my children, and my absolute best friend.

Catch-up!!!!

2009-03-20T14:45:00.002-04:00

Just a quick little blog post to let all my blog fans know, since I know there are SOOOOOOOO many of you (ha ha), to be on the look out for a flurry of blog posts!!! I have some SERIOUS catching-up to do.... Between Grandpa's visit, mine and Tyler's 10 year anniversary, SNOW, Tyler going to Vegas, soccer starting back up, Grandpa leaving and Grandma coming, an amazingly unbelievable BEAUTY and the BEAST production, and Caiden turning 8, 2009 has been soooooo busy for us, I can hardly believe that March is 1/2 way over already! I have a GAZILLION pictures that I will have to very selectively go through so I don't bore ya'll, but HOPEFULLY I will start to have some new posts popping up on this blog over the next few days. So make sure to check back frequently if you'd like to catch up on our 2009 adventures thus far!!! :-)

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-11T12:00:00.003-05:00

We were invited over to the Leggett's house for New Year's Eve. Pizza, "snacky" foods, and games were on the agenda. Kylie and Kamrynn were especially excited as they knew tonight was the night they'd get to exchange their Christmas gifts.

Kylie opening her present from Kamrynn.... Baby Annabell's bed.

I think she likes it!!!!

Kami opening her present from Kylie... Baby Annabell!!

Sooo happy to have Baby Annabell!!!

The girls!

After dinner, we played the new electronic Life. So much fun!!! Tyler and I liked it so much, we got one for ourselves!! Then the boys hit the new PS3...

Kami tried so hard to make it all night. She BARELY made it until midnight... I think her eyes closed the same time the ball dropped!!!

She woke up a little too early the next morning, so Tyler had her cuddle with him... next thing we knew she was out again!!!

Happy 2009 from our house to yours!!!!!!

Christmas!!!!!!

2009-01-11T11:35:00.000-05:00

***DISCLAIMER: This post is going to be LOADED with pictures!!! There were so many greats one, I had a really hard time narrowing it down... there were at least a hundred more that you don't see here! So I apologize in advance, but I hope you enjoy our Christmas morning!!!***

It was finally Christmas morning!!!! This year, thankfully, the kids slept in a little more than the previous year. In 2007, we heard the kids (well Caiden and Madi) get up around 3:30 AM.... needless to say we sent them straight back to bed. They did much better this year, and woke up around 6:30ish. They were so excited to see that Santa had come and had eaten their cookies. Since they are always super excited and cannot WAIT to open presents, we always let them go through their stockings and open Santa presents right away.

Caiden and his new "Army Truck"

Madi so excited to get the "Kit: An American Girl" movie.

Kamrynn and her "iPod". She loved Madi's mix stick and was so excited to have her very own!!!

Madi not too thrilled with her new video game. It's a Wii game and we don't have a Wii. "Santa messed up," she said.

Or did he......

Woohoo!!!! A Wii!!!!!!!!

After we opened Santa presents and Tyler and I got some coffee, we proceeded on with this rest of our Christmas gifts. For the first time, Christmas actually lasted awhile! Madi was our "Santa" and she got one present for each of the kids and they all opened their presents together. Then she'd get another one and after that was opened, the whole thing would start again! It was nice to see them actually taking the time to really look at, and appreciate what they got before moving on to the next present!

Caiden with his new snuggly Wall-E blanket! Thanks so much Aunt Agnes & Uncle Peter!

The girls with their new cozy blankets! Thanks again Aunt Agnes & Uncle Peter!

Kami loves her "Fancy Nancy" books!!!!

New Magic Tree House books!!!

Madi's "Julie" American girl book collection is now complete!

Me & Madi with the necklace she made me for Christmas.

Tyler talking to Kami about his new Ping Pong paddles to go with his new Ping Pong table!!! So much fun!!!

So excited over "Kung Fu Panda". Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!!!

Kami checking out her new clothes. Yep, I think they fit!!!

Madi enjoying our traditional Christmas breakfast... Cinnamon rolls!!!

Surveying the damage.....

Kami and Tyler creating Kami's "Mii".

Madi helping Kami "bowl". Thank goodness for wrist straps!!!!

"Hmmmm..... what should I try first?"

Boxing!!!!

Kami listening to music on her "Mix Stick".

I hope that you and yours were as blessed this Christmas as we were!!!!

Christmas Eve PJs

2009-01-11T08:45:00.002-05:00

A tradition in our family that started way back when my sister and I were kids, and maybe even when our Mom was a kid, was opening one present on Christmas Eve. And every year that one present was.... new PJs!!!!!!! My parents get the kids their new PJs every year. This year though, Madi tried to break tradition by asking Grandma if she could have something other than PJs to open on Christmas Eve. Grandma's reply was "Take it or leave it."

Caiden got TWO pairs of PJ pants!!!

Madi's new "take it" PJs!!

Kami loves her new thermals!!

Fresh and clean in new PJs after showers. We finished our Christmas Eve night by watching "The Polar Express" before sending the kids off to bed to dream of sugarplums.

Christmas Cookies

2009-01-11T08:30:00.003-05:00

What's Christmas Eve without Christmas Cookies for Santa?!?! We usually do our baking earlier in December, but with such a busy month we ended up making our Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve! The kids always have so much fun, and I've learned over the years to stress less, and chill more!!! I assure you that our cookies tasted as yummy as they looked!!! And I think Santa would agree!!!

Madi working hard.....

Caiden deep in concentration....

Kami debating whether or not this cookie is "done"...

I think Kami tasted as much as she decorated!!!

Finished products!!! Time for Santa to come!!!

Soccer with a Pro

2009-01-11T08:14:00.000-05:00

A week or two after Caiden's Indoor Soccer Tournament, we received an email from Caiden's coach about a one day soccer clinic in Wilson, NC. The clinic was going to be a full day of soccer with local High School and college soccer players, as well as two pros from the MLS... Wells Thompson from the New England Revolution, and William Hesmer from this year's MLS Champions, Columbus Crew!!!!!!! We asked Caiden if he wanted to go to the clinic and of course he said "YES!!!"

So on Saturday, Dec. 20, we all headed up the road to the (very nice) Wilson Soccer Complex. Unfortunately, Caiden was grouped with the younger kids and although we could've moved him up into the appropriate skill level, we procrastinated a little too much... but he seemed to have a good time even if he didn't learn anything. And it's not every day that you can say you played soccer with a Pro!!!!

Warming up with a little morning jog!!!

Practicing his "moves"

Perhaps the COOLEST thing about the entire day was when William came over to help with Caiden's group and told everyone to partner up. Well Caiden was the odd man out, so guess who HE got to partner with! Yup!!! They practiced passing for a good 10-15 minutes and it was soooooo cool that Caiden had an MLS pro as his partner!!!

William's autographing Caiden's clinic T-shirt.

Caiden and William

A visit with Santa

2009-01-08T16:22:00.000-05:00

Tyler's shop had their annual "Avionics Flight Christmas Party" a few weeks before Christmas. After taking a break from attending last year, we decided (or rather Tyler's bosses decided for us) that we would go and that we would have fun. At the very least, it would be a cooking free night for me... and the kids would get to see Santa! We ended up having a pretty good time and the food really wasn't that bad.

Madi snagging the final (and winning) seat in the Scavenger Hunt game!

Madi with her prize for winning the Scavenger Hunt.... $20 Target Gift Card!!!

Kami cheesing it up!

Santa!!!! Kami was sooooo excited to see him...until she was next in line. Then she started crying so we had to step out of line and remind her of how excited she was and how nice Santa was!

Mr. Too-cool with his candy cane

Caiden playing "Rock Paper Scissors". He won the first round, but lost the second!

Disney on Ice

2009-01-08T15:00:00.000-05:00

Disney on Ice made it's annual stop in Raleigh the first week in December. As soon as I saw it advertised that they were going to be doing "The Little Mermaid" I knew I just had to take the girls. Especially Kamrynn, as she has been obsessed with Ariel for over a year now!!! I even let Kami wear her Ariel dress!! Caiden and Tyler didn't join us, because I think Caiden thought he was "too cool" for Disney on Ice. I tried my best to convince him, but to no avail. So Paulette and I took our girls and had a GREAT time!! Our seats were pretty good too, although most of the action was done facing away from us, but all in all we had a wonderful view, and sooooo much fun! One of the best parts was the "Princess Pre-Show" where they had all of the Princess dresses in a room on view for our Princesses to see!

First on the ice was "Cars". It was very cool seeing actual cars on ice!!

I love this picture of Kylie!! She is singing her heart out to Rascall Flatts "Life is a Highway"!!

After "Cars" was the part Kamrynn had been waiting for.... ARIEL!!!!

After a brief intermission, it was time for "The Lion King".

And last, but not least, was "Tinkerbell".

And what would a Disney on Ice show be without the gang!!!!

Before we headed home, we of course had to take a "potty break". Kamrynn didn't have to go so while we waited, we found this picture of Ariel that Kami just had to plop down next to. She's singing (so seriously) the "Tinkerbell" movie theme song! Love it!!!!!

We always have soooo much fun at Disney on Ice, and I cannot wait to go again. Although next time I hope Tyler and Caiden will join us!

Indoor Soccer

2009-01-08T13:35:00.000-05:00

The first weekend in December, Caiden and a few of his Goldsboro Sting teammates played in an Indoor Soccer tournament at Mt. Olive College. Although the tournament results were not what we'd hoped for (0-3... although that record does not do the kids justice and show just how close these games were and just how hard the kids played), Caiden had a blast!!! He really loved the fast paced nature of Indoor Soccer and being able to play off the walls. Once again, Caiden was more than likely the youngest player on the field... EVERY time. (His team played in the Under-10 age bracket.) This didn't stop Caiden though.... he scored TWO GOALS!!!!!!! We were sooooo excited and soooo proud. Here are a few pictures taken during the tourny with my early Christmas present.... a new Digital SLR camera!!! (Which I am still trying to figure out, so if you have any tips, please pass them my way!!!!)

Taking a snack break between games.

Me and my boy!

It's been TOO long....

2009-01-08T13:12:00.002-05:00

So I'm sure ya'll have probably given up on me by now since it has been entirely TOO long since I have updated my blog. The holidays were busier than ever for us, and with the kids being home on break and almost constantly needing something from me every other minute, I really didn't have the time I would have liked to get this thing updated.

The kids are now back in school, and since we're on a fairly regular schedule now, I hope to get caught up on my blog within the next few days! So check back frequently as I have LOTS to post!!!!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas holiday and hope that your 2009 is off to a fantastic start!!!!!

Tagged!

2008-12-09T09:34:00.005-05:00

My very first "tagged".... thanks, Becky! ;-)

8's

8 TV shows I enjoy watching:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. The Today Show
4. Army Wives
5. Survivor
6. The Amazing Race
7. Dancing with the Stars
8. ER

8 things that happened yesterday:
1. I went to work and listened to babies cry for an entire hour! Then thankfully, the instigator went home!
2. Took Kami to dance class and got to watch... it was Parent Watch Week, and unfortunately I had no clue... so no pictures to show. Oh well...
3. Put our new LED Christmas lights on the tree.
4. Made some yummy homemade tortillas to eat with leftover Chili.
5. Decorated the Christmas tree with the family.
6. Watched "Charlie Brown Christmas" with the kids.
7. Ordered a Christmas gift for my Grandparents.
8. Went to bed at a decent hour! (10 o'clock)

8 things I'm looking forward to:
1. Christmas Bunco tonight with the Babes!
2. Disney on Ice tomorrow with the girls, Paulette & Kylie!
3. Finishing up Christmas shopping with Tyler!
4. Christmas Break... no work, no school, ALL PLAY!!!!
5. Christmas!!!!!
6. Our 10th wedding Anniversary!
7. The day we can live close enough to family so that Tyler and I can actually go on dates!
8. Disney World... hopefully in 2009!!!
9. (Had to add a #9... this is a biggie!!!) Tyler sewing on Tech!!!!!

8 things I love about WINTER:
1. Hot Chocolate
2. Christmas music
3. Christmas lights
4. The fact that I live in a place where it snows only briefly, and even if it snows a little more than that, it doesn't bury the house, and doesn't stick around for months! (Can you tell I'm a California girl?)
5. Yummy soups and chilis for dinner
6. Jackets... some girls love shoes, I love jackets!!!
7. ... and Scarves!
8. Cuddling on the couch with my favorite snuggly blanket!

8 things on my wish list:
1. To live near family, or..
2. To move back overseas... Europe, please?
3. Disney World in 2009
4. New clothes!!
5. A new wedding ring!
6. That Madi gets a part... any part... in "Beauty and the Beast"
7. That Tyler and I could go away somewhere for our anniversary
8. To be the best wife and mom (sorry for "copying", Becky... that was a good one!)

8 people I tag: (sorry ladies!)
1. Christi P.
2. Mary W.
3. Missy N.
4. Krissa P.
5. Jennifer G.
6. Whitney S.
7. Jenny G.
8. Cyndi O.

My little Block-head!

2008-12-04T14:53:00.004-05:00

In case ya'll were wondering where in the world I had disappeared to, since my blog posts have been a little, uh, lacking lately... I spent the last the last few weeks of November entirely consumed by another of Madi's productions. This time around we were doing "Velveteen Rabbit", and I was actually one of the Producers!!! Although the last weeks of the production were HIGHLY stressful, I had a GREAT time and cannot wait to do it again!

The show was fabulous... we really had some amazing parents working behind the scenes to create a truly magical set, and even more magical costumes. Our toy room "come to life" scene was simply amazing! And the kids... we had some of the sweetest kids involved in this play! I am suffering from slight withdrawals, I think, from Stagestruck, and all of my new friends- young and old!!

Madi was one of the "blocks". All six of these girls were so much fun, and actually spelled out words by turning around and showing the different letters on their "block"! I am so proud of my little "block-head"... congrats on another job well done, Miss Madi! Now on to "Beauty and the Beast"!!!

Madi and her best friend, Mary Ella

All the blocks, awaiting their turn on stage!

SNOW!!!

2008-12-04T14:35:00.005-05:00

We had a very PLEASANT surprise a few weeks ago here in Goldsboro. SNOW!!!! Being a California girl, I'm not a big fan of the stuff. It's very pretty and I love watching it fall to the ground, and love to watch my kids play in it and catch snowflakes on their tongues, and I even like for it to cover the ground in a blanket of white... but that's about as far as I go. An inch or two is PERFECT!!! Well, we didn't have that much snow on November 18, but the flurries were definitely falling for a good 20 minutes or so, so of course Kami and I had to go out and experience it since it would only be a matter of time before it stopped!

I think we may be in for a "rough" winter, and it's technically not even winter yet!! Only three days later more flurries were falling to the ground... that's snow in Goldsboro twice before December!!! We shall see what the season holds!!

Bubbles!!!

2008-11-08T16:30:00.003-05:00

School Fall Pictures 2008

2008-11-02T18:51:00.003-05:00

The kids came home with their Fall Pictures this week, so I thought I'd share. Ignore the "Style A" blurbs on both of them... they only came home with the proofs, but I wanted to scan and share the pics, anyways! ;-)

Madi- 4th Grade!!!

Caiden- 2nd Grade!!

Young Eagles

2008-11-02T08:23:00.007-05:00

A few weeks back I saw a little blurb in our local small town paper about "Free Airplane Rides" for kids ages 8-18, at our small town airport. So I mentioned it to Tyler, and we thought it might be fun to take the kids. Yesterday was the big day. The event was sponsored by the Young Eagles, a group who's goal it is to get kids interested in flying. So after Kami's dance class, we headed to the Goldsboro Municipal Airport. The whole way there, I was hoping that they would let Caiden fly since the ages said "8-18", and he was only 7. We arrived and the kids immediately got excited seeing all the little prop planes on the flightline. We walked into the room to register and sign them up and sign the all important waiver, and WOOHOO!! they said that yes, Caiden could fly! After filling out the necessary paperwork, we headed to the flightline. Poor Kami, she really wanted to go up with the kids, too. And she kept saying, "I'm going up with Bubba and Sissy. I'm going in the airplane." She was quite upset that she couldn't go, too, but she was quite the trooper and a very good sport. We only had to wait in line about 20 minutes or so for the kids flight. The pilots were taking kids up three at a time, so Madi & Caiden got to go together. As we walked out to the plane, the pilot asked who wanted to sit up front, and Madi immediately raised her hand and said "I do!!!" We got to walk on the flightline with the kids and the pilot to take a couple pictures....

Walking to the plane

Caiden in the backseat, ready for take-off!

Madi up front, ready to take control!!!

After they got all strapped in, all Tyler, Kami and I could do was sit back, watch, and pray that nothing would go wrong!

It seemed like they sat on the runway FOREVER before they were able to actually take-off... but finally we saw their plane!

Arriving back to the airport on solid ground... safe and sound! Whew!

The kids had an amazing time, and Madi even got to steer the plane a little bit! They LOVED it and immediately asked if they could get in line and go again! I think one of their favorite parts was wearing those headphone thingys that they could talk back and forth to each other on! What amazed me and Tyler most about this whole process was that it was completely FREE!!! This was the experience of a lifetime for our kids, it's something that they will remember for a long, long time, possibly forever!! I think we may have a couple of future pilots on our hands!

**Check out the Young Eagles website to find out if they are coming to a city near you! **

Pumpkins & Cookies!!!

2008-11-01T16:09:00.009-04:00

This past Tuesday, the kids had the day off from school, and I didn't have to work! So the kids and I decided to have some "Fall Fun." We all made sugar cookie dough in the morning and then let it "chill" in the refrigerator for a few hours. While making the cookie dough, Madi also helped me throw dinner in the crock pot. Then the kids and I headed into town to run some errands, which included getting Flu shots, meeting up with Tyler for lunch, and picking out some pumpkins to carve later!

After we got home, it was cookie time! We decorated half of the cookies before they cooked, and saved the other half to decorate with frosting after they had cooked. We only had time to do the pre-cooked cookies on Tuesday, and then decorated the rest with frosting after school on Wednesday. I LOVE making homemade cookies with my kids, and the new sugar cookie recipe I tried was SUPER yummy!!!

Tuesday's Cookie decorating session!

Wednesday's Cookie Decorating session.. with frosting!!! :-)

Our table of cookies!!! Who needs candy?!?! Mmmmmmm!!!

Tuesday night we carved pumpkins! I look forward to this every year, mainly because I don't have to do it! For as long as I can remember, I have hated sticking my hands into that pumpkin "gunk". Tyler and the kids do it all, and I get to take pictures! The kids and I actually went online for our pumpkin stencils this year and found some great *free* ones! Madi and Caiden actually did most of their pumpkins by themselves... they both had VERY little help, and did a GREAT job!!!

Pulling out the seeds...

Kami's not too sure she likes the "gunk", either!

Such a goofball....

Caiden "eating" the "gunk"

Hard at work.....

The finished products!!!!

Kami's was her Halloween namesake... Minnie Mouse!

Caiden's was a cute little Frankenstein titled, "Der!" The lit pumpkin picture is kinda blurry, but you get the idea.

Madi's was a "Creepy Cat", but it turned out more "Cute" than "Creepy". Again... the lit pumpkin pic is kinda funky...

Trick-or-Treat!!

2008-11-01T07:14:00.005-04:00

Halloween 2008 has come and gone!! And that's actually probably a good thing this year, as we had two very moody and emotional pre-adolescents! Definitely NOT how I had envisioned Halloween with my kids. Oh well... once we finally left the house and started Trick-or-Treating, it got a lot better!

Madi was a 50s waitress! This was her "curtain warmer" costume for "Bye Bye Birdie"!

My sweet, Minnie Mouse!

Caiden as Darth Vader... it's a good thing he has a mask on, cuz it hiding his GRUMPY face!!!!

Off to the base where we met the Leggetts so the girls could go Trick or Treating together!

Minnie Mouse & Cinderella.... AKA Bestest friends in the whole wide world!

Paulette, me and the girls! We realized after knowing each other for just over 2 years now we have ZERO pictures of us together! So here's our first one!

Tired from walking, cold and getting hungry we headed home. We did quite a bit of walking all over base housing, for not very much candy. But they definitely got enough, and honestly, with the "holiday" season now officially begun, who really needs all that candy anyways?!?

Inspecting the "loot"!!!

Our "Perfect" Gingerbread House!

2008-10-30T14:23:00.004-04:00

Since I already admitted to my lack of interior designing skills, I'll let you in on another little secret.... I'm a bit of a perfectionist. There, I said it! Being a perfectionist isn't always a bad thing.... in fact it served me quite well in my school years! It's not such a great quality however when trying to have "fun" with the kids, or trying to "craft", or "create" with them. And being a perfectionist actually adds quite a bit more stress than necessary when trying to "create". It's something I have to work very hard on controlling and keeping at bay.

So I was quite proud of myself last week when we decided to spend a Family night constructing a Halloween Gingerbread House I picked up at Michael's, after seeing pictures on my friend, Mary's blog of her and her family's Gingerbread House.

I made the icing before the kids got home from school, and got everything prepped and ready to go, so after homework and dinner we could get right to work!

We assembled the house quite easily, and put it aside so the walls could "set." After dinner we got right to work. I actually read the instructions, step-by-step, to the kiddos and let them each take a turn decorating! I realized that this wasn't going to be the "picture perfect" Gingerbread house, when almost I noticed almost immediately that my icing that was the "perfect" consistency hours earlier, had now gotten a little watery. It was too late at this point in the evening, to try to fix it. So I completely backed off, and although the kids still tried to follow the "script", I let them go for it! We had a great night together, and this project that could have been extremely stressful for me, turned out to be soooo much more fun! I guess I'll have to restrain my inner perfectionist more frequently if it means less stress!

Caiden really concentrating!

When we finished following the "instructions", we still had three sides of the house, some icing and some candy left over, so I each of the kids got to decorate a side however they wanted! Fun!

Crazy kids!!!

Halloween Fun

2008-10-30T14:06:00.003-04:00

I'll admit... I'm not the best interior decorator. Some people just have that knack, but I don't. I wish I could say I was, and I wish even more that I had the money to go and purchase all kinds of cute seasonal items to decorate my house with, but I don't. Every year I have these grand ideas, and wonderful intentions to at least decorate a little for Halloween, but then I get busy, and frankly, money runs out, so I don't. This year, however, I was determined to do something!!! So here's my very feeble attempts at decorating for Halloween this year... not shown in the pictures is my too cute Scarecrow out in my planter in front of the house.

I have had these window clings ever since our first Halloween here in 2004. They seem to "magically" change positions a gazillion times before Halloween comes, but my little ghosts and goblins have actually let them be this year!

It was lots of fun putting up these spider webs before Madi and Caiden got home from school. They were so excited when they got home and saw them!

I love my little Pumpkin luminary... only ended costing like, $1.50 or something at Michael's. What a deal!!

One of my new favorite things to do around the holidays is to decorate my kitchen cabinets with the many art projects and drawings my kids do at school!! I got this great idea from my friend, Christi!

And they say TV isn't educational!!!

2008-10-30T13:56:00.003-04:00

So yesterday morning after I dropped off Madi and Caiden at school, Kami and I ran home to finish getting ourselves ready for work. She was brushing her teeth in the bathroom and I went in there to check on her and our conversation went a little something like this...

Kami: Mommy (with toothbrush hanging out of mouth), wanna know what I learned on TV?

Me: No, what?!? (All the while thinking "Oh no... what's going to come out of her mouth next?)

Kami: I learned that you shouldn't leave the water running while your brushing your teeth. See?!? Look, I turned it off!!

Me: Very good, Kami! That's absolutely right!

And they say TV isn't educational! :-)

Halloween Flashback!!!

2008-10-23T09:13:00.011-04:00

So since I just started my blog this year, I (obviously) have GAZILLIONS of pictures from years past. Since Halloween will be here next week, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down "memory lane" and post pictures from Halloween's of years past! Enjoy!!!!

Halloween 1999- Madi's First Halloween

What's crazy to think about remembering this year was that Tyler had just arrived "home" from almost nine months of basic training/tech school, and only a few days after Halloween we would be leaving Sacramento for Langley AFB, VA, and our new life together as an Air Force family!

Being only 3 months old, and too young to Trick-or-Treat, we didn't buy a costume... Grandma spoiled Madi with some warm pink PJs, and a too cute Bunny Bib, and she added some whiskers! We helped hand out candy that year!

Halloween 2000

Unfortunately, we don't have any costume pictures of Madi this year. She was going to be an "Angel." Our little "angel" didn't get to Trick-or-Treat this year as her behavior was really, quite the opposite of "angelic"!!!

Our "angel"

Halloween 2001

Our first Halloween in England! Nagymama and Nagypapa had sent us some money to use on the kids, so we splurged and bought them these too cute Disney costumes!

Madi and her first best friend, Ashlyn.

LOVE this picture of Caiden!!!

Halloween 2002

We definitely got our money's worth out of these costumes!! Grandma had made Madi an adorable Minnie Mouse costume, and even mailed it off in time... or so she thought. The costumes (Caiden was going to be Mickey Mouse) arrived a day or two AFTER Halloween. Oh well... the kids were more than happy to be Tigger and Pooh again!

Halloween 2003

We spent this Halloween in California, as Tyler was deployed. And the kids finally got to be Minnie & Mickey! Grandma & Grandpa took them Trick-or-Treating while I stayed behind and passed out candy!

Halloween 2004

Yay!!! Back in the U.S.! And we added a new member to our family... Kamrynn!

Halloween 2005

This was the year I decided to make Madi's and Caiden's costumes! They turned out great, but what they DON'T show is the many late nights, blood, sweat and tears that were spilled during the making of these!!!!

Madi, AKA, Sleeping Beauty

Tough-guy Buzz!!!

Kami showing a little Sacramento-love!

Halloween 2006

This must have been a pretty uneventful Halloween, because these were the only two pictures I found!

Halloween 2007

This year I only made one costume... and that would be Princess Ariel's! It was much easier than the Sleeping Beauty costume, even though my machine broke when I was trying to put in the zipper.... nothing a few safety pins couldn't fix! I am embarassed to report that my machine is now fixed, and I still haven't put in the zipper! It's on my To-Do list! :-)

My Mom made this Indian costume when she was a Campfire girl, which means it's SUPER old!!! (Just kidding, Mom!) But seriously, I think every girl in our family has been an Indian for Halloween at least one time or another!

Tyler applying Caiden's "face".

He did an AMAZING job!!!!!!! Presenting........ Darth Maul!!!!

And of course, Princess Ariel!!!

Be sure to check back next week for pictures from Halloween 2008!!!

Crazy kids!

2008-10-21T06:52:00.004-04:00

Here is the swimming video that I tried to upload last night! I have no idea why it worked this morning and not last night... oh well! Enjoy my crazy kids!

California Adventures- Wrapping it Up!!!

2008-10-20T20:40:00.012-04:00

I think this is it, people! I finally may reach the end of our CA Adventures tonight! So without further adieu.... So I last left you with our S.F. trip, and Kami doing a too cute version of Taylor Swift's, "Picture to Burn".

On Friday morning, Mom insisted that Tyler and I take off for the day and go do something. Being so far away from family, and being too cheap (or maybe is it poor, or maybe a little of both...) to pay for a babysitter, Tyler and I sadly never do anything by ourselves. It's quite pathetic really, but alas, it's the sad, sad truth. So it didn't take much arm-twisting at all for Tyler and I to go on a "date". We decided to head down to Old Sac and walked around for an hour or so. We ended up stumbling upon this miltary museum down there, and being military, we got in free. That was pretty cool... seeing all that old military artifacts and memorabilia. After that we headed down to this awesome restaurant that I think they only have out West... Chevy's. We ate outside by the river and had an awesome lunch, and equally awesome Margarita's! After that we headed home on a hot afternoon in a van without A/C. Talk about romantic! haha We headed straight home and jumped in the pool to cool off!

Later that evening we very hesitantly decided to head downtown (again) for Part 1 of our three-part 10 year High School Reunion. We had been going back and forth for months as to weather or not we really wanted to go, and actually extended our CA trip just in case we decided last minute to go. So off we went to this bar downtown, not really knowing what to expect at all. Talk about a time warp! It was truly one of the weirdest experiences.... seeing so many familiar faces, but at the same time faces that I hadn't seen in 10 years!! After telling each other that we'd go for just a little bit and then leave, we ended up staying out until 1am!!! The next morning it was time for Part 2 of the reunion... a picnic at a local park where families were invited. The kids were very excited to go with us and see some of the people we went to school with. It was another warm afternoon, and it was fun to see everyone again, and to see some new faces that hadn't attended the night before. It's crazy how even though 10 years have passed, some people seemed exactly the same. And even though we may not see or talk to these people for another 10 years, I think everyone had a really good time and were glad they went... I know Tyler and I were.

Saturday night brought a backyard campfire, and S'mores! Mmmm!!!
On Sunday, we were finally able to get together with our longtime family friends... the Olsen's! All nine of us loaded up (again) and headed to their house for an afternoon of swimming, and a super yummy dinner!!!! The kids had a blast swimming in Kevin and Julie's pool, complete with a diving board! I even managed to convince Caiden to take his life jacket off and jump! He had fun jumping off the diving board before, but once the took the vest off... he got crazy!!!! I tried to upload a video... in fact I've spent the last hour trying multiple times to get it to upload, and it didn't work. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. For now enjoy the pics of the kids jumping off the diving board!
Water fight with Julie!
Rub-a-dub-dub-Kayleb, Anthony and Kami in the tub!

Monday morning brought a final fishing outing for the boys.

Caiden actually looks happy to be up this early, which is a surprise. He is so not a morning person!
And Tuesday we packed up, and headed back to good ole N.C. I will never forget what Caiden said upon arriving at the airport and stepping outside (at 2 in the morning), "Man it's stinking HOT here!" And I said, "Caiden, welcome to North Carolina." Caiden decided that he wanted to go back to CA and the beautiful (not humid) weather. Hopefully that day will come sooner rather than later. We had an amazing vacation, better than Tyler and I had hoped for, truthfully. You know you had a good vacation when almost three months later the kids (and the parents) are STILL talking about it! Thanks Mom & Dad for letting the Eddy clan invade your house for three weeks... can't wait until we can do it again! :-)

California Adventures- Week 3, Part 1

2008-10-18T15:00:00.003-04:00

Okay, so 2 1/2 months after our return home, I think it's finally time I wrap up our California Adventures posts! I think I ended last time with our Tuesday day-trip to Lake Tahoe. Wednesday was a stay-at-home lazy day. Tyler actually got up early and drove by himself back up to the mountains to meet his Dad and brother for a day of fishing. I think I spent most of the day reading a book based upon a blog recommendation from my good friend Mary. Some of you just might have heard of it... Twilight, anyone? When Tyler got home from fishing that night, I made him go with me to Wal-Mart so I could get the second book in the series, New Moon. These books are highly addicting, and because I refuse to pay more than $10 for a book, I have yet to read books 3 & 4 in the series, as they aren't out in paperback yet. Anyways... back to CA Adventures. So Thursday morning, we all woke up early again and got ready for yet another day trip. This time, though, we headed South... to San Francisco! Our first stop in S.F. was the Exploratorium. This place was SOOOOOOOO cool! I cannot recommend this place highly enough. It's like a big Science, Physics, Math, the way the world works museum, and just about everything in it is hands-ON, which makes it so much fun for everyone! Since we were only in S.F. for the day, although we very easily could have spent all day there, we spent about half a day there, and weren't able to see everything. Here are a few pictures of stuff we did see, though.

Madi, Caiden, and Tyler stacking wood bricks and learning some of the laws of Physics.

Having so much fun and not even realizing they were "learning"!! This thing was pretty cool... it was one of those giant pin-cushion thingys. You know.. the kind that has all those nails poking through one side and you press your hands into it to see the "reverse" indentation? They had a blast with this, and all I could of think of was germs, germs, and MORE germs. Kami and Kayleb playing with "blocks". Caiden & Kami thought this chair was the coolest! I love how little Caiden looks!

Snack time!

Nothing goes better with snacks than a little toilet water! :-) They had this really cool exhibit on Superstitions, and Perceptions, and they had this Toilet Drinking Fountain. The sign next to it says something along the lines that even though it is a perfectly sanitary drinking fountain, just the fact that it is a "toilet" will keep many people from drinking from it. I was one of those "many" people. Apparently Caiden was not. Caiden and Grandpa checking out their endless refelctions in the Human Kaleidascope

Family Photo Time After the Exploratorium we headed to the world famous Pier 39! It ended up being a little colder and windier than we had planned, and everyone quickly grew tired, hungry, and grumpy. So after doing a little browsing and window shopping we faced the daunting task of trying to find someplace where 9 people all wanted to eat. We ended up at an outdoor Boudin's bakery, or something like that where we paid WAY too much to eat, for not very much food. Oh well... we were in a tourist town! Tyler and the Girls... Alcatraz in the (way) background. My Mom & Dad! My sis, Mom, & Me Climbing on the Sea Lions! My Dad (who's name is Zoltan) had to have his picture taken in front of Zoltar! Family Photo in front of Alcatraz and the Bay Madi and the World Famous Pier 39 Sea Lions!

After Pier 39 and some food, we headed home... but not without one last stop to get some great pictures of another world famous landmark... the Golden Gate Bridge! What's a trip to San Francisco without Golden Gate pictures?!?!

Getting ready to drive across!

Cousins!

Family Photo!

This picture is one of my favorites of Kami! Okay, since this has turned into such a mega-long post, I think I'll have to make another 2-parter. But before I sign off for now, I'll leave you with a video clip I took of Kami on the way home from S.F. She LOVES music, so before we headed to CA I loaded my iPod with all kinds of music as a way of helping to keep her entertained for the plane ride, and our many car rides. Here she is singing one of her all-time favorite songs! Look out Taylor Swift!

Kami's Parent Watch Week @ Dance

2008-10-18T14:04:00.003-04:00

So, last Saturday was "Parent Watch Week" at Kamrynn's dance class. Normally for class, parents aren't allowed in the class. They have a "waiting area" for us to sit in. I was really looking forward to seeing everything Kami has learned so far in dance, and although Kami (and the rest of the girls) were too cute for words, I have to admit I was highly disappointed. First of all, class is supposed to begin at 9 am. Well the studio doors were locked when we arrived, and her teacher didn't even arrive until about 9:05. But here was the most annoying part- for whatever reason, the teacher couldn't get the CD player/sound system to work... AT ALL!!! So the poor girls had to do their entire class without music! And because of the teacher being late and the music not working, class really didn't even start until about 9:15 or so. So the 45 min. class turned into a 25-30 min. class. Bummer! I did manage to get a couple cute pictures, though, and let me just say that I am REALLY looking forward to the next parent watch week, when hopefully things will run a little more smoothly.

Kylie & Kamrynn... the Terrific Twosome!!

Jenny-Ann, Kylie & Kamrynn. Jenny-Ann is the daughter of Jennifer, one of my Bunco friends! Can anyone find Madi in this picture?

Tumbling portion of class....

Autograph Book

2008-10-06T21:30:00.005-04:00

For about a month or so now, I've gotten to listen to, and live vicariously through, my good friend Paulette's upcoming family vacation plans. They were heading to Disney World at the end of September! So after deluging her with many tips, ideas, words of wisdom, "If I were you..." 's, etc., it dawned on me.... Kylie needed an Autograph book! You know... those things that almost every kid carries around Disney, searching for every costumed character, just to get their autograph!?!? I mentioned this to her, all the while thinking how expensive (read... overpriced) those things must be to purchase, and realizing that I could probably make a pretty cute one myself! So, that's exactly what I told her I'd do! And of course, leave it to me, to procrastinate and leave it until the last possible minute. Last minute or not, I'm pretty proud of it, and think it came out pretty darn cute... don't you?!?!

Front...

Inside...

Back Cover...

Spine view...

And I was told, that Kylie got many a-compliment on her Autograph book, and Paulette said that hers was WAY cuter than any of the other ones she saw there! I can't wait until we take our Disney trip (keeping fingers and toes crossed for 2009!!!) to make one for each of my kids!

Yertle, the Turtle

2008-10-06T21:01:00.007-04:00

We almost added another member to our family this weekend. On Saturday, while Kamrynn and I were in town at dance class and running errands, I called Tyler to check-in, and was greeted by a very excited Madi.

Madi: Mommy, I found a turtle!
Me: A what?!? Where?!?
Madi: A turtle! In the garage, under the tarp! We're keeping it until you get home.
Me: Huh? Okay, cool. Can I talk to your dad?
Madi: Okay.

So I told Kami about our new "pet", and she was very excited. And let me tell you... this ended up being GREAT bribery. As she was in rare form Saturday morning, and did NOT want to run errands after dance. All I had to do was mention the turtle back at home, and how we had to hurry before Daddy let it go, and we were back in business!

Upon arriving home, I see a big plastic tote on our walkway. And "playing" in the tote (more like trying to escape), was the turtle whom I will call Yertle (I can't remember what the kids named it). Apparently Tyler got online, did some research and discovered a few things:

1) Yertle was more than likely a female.
2) Yertle was a box turtle.
3) Box turtles do NOT make good pets. (Can we say... SALMONELLA?!?!)
4) Box turtles are a "threatened" species.
5) Turtles need to be released very near to where they were found, otherwise they might not survive. I guess this is a big mistake people make... trying to "help" them by taking the turtles someplace us humans deem "more worthy".

So after a few hours, and much hand washing, we released Yertle in the little (dried up) ditch/creek-bed on the side of our house.
It was fun while it lasted, and provided a few hours of entertainment, on an otherwise lazy Saturday!

California Adventures- Week 2, Part 2

2008-09-26T09:14:00.014-04:00

Due to a last minute cancellation, here I am sitting at home on a Friday morning instead of being at work. So, since my house is (relatively) clean, I figured what better way to spend my morning then by finishing up Week 2! So here we go!

I last left you with our Saturday afternoon visit with Grandpa Tom. Sunday morning, Stacey, Kayleb, and the Eddy clan walked down to the park and some fun play time.

That afternoon, we headed over to the Hunter's house for a super yummy dinner!! Heidi is such a great cook... I always look forward to dinner at her house! And it was a lot of fun to catch up with them and let all of the kids play! I cannot believe that her daughter, Kiersten, is already in Jr. High! The kids all had a blast playing together. The highlight of the night, though, was when the kids brought out Kiersten's CD player, and performed for us. Even Mom, got in on the action when the "Cha Cha Slide" came on! :-)
Cha-Cha Slide

Madi, Lindsey, and Kiersten

Caiden using "The Force"

Caiden, Lindsey, Kiersten, Madi, Makenna (well, her picture anyways... she had already gone to bed!), Kayleb, and Kamrynn!

Monday brought a trip to the Sacramento Zoo! Everyone made the trip except for Grandpa who stayed behind to work on Stacey's truck. We had a great time together, and amazingly a lot of the animals were out!

Group shot! Caiden is being "chased" by the alligator.

Giraffes! I am always amazed by how tall they really are.

The kids kept waiting for the hyenas to laugh!

A rare photo of all five of us!

Tuesday, we all woke up nice and early so that we could get on the road and head to Lake Tahoe. My Dad had gotten us all tickets to Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Nights Dream" (kid version) at Sand Harbor. I think the show started at like 9:30 or 10 or something, so off we went! We made good time, and only had one minor hiccup.... right after we pulled into Sand Harbor, Caiden said "I don't feel very good", and then he coughed, and I knew what was coming next. So I told Dad to pull over and quick... Caiden barely made it out of the car in time! But he did, so at least we didn't have to smell it. We have since come to the conclusion that Caiden gets motion sick. So that was fun! He was fine the rest of the day, thank goodness. The play was good, but let me tell you... it was HOT!!!!!! That sun was beating straight down on us! We were glad when it was over so we could head back to the car, and find some water and some shade. We had parked by this great little picnic spot, with all of these big rocks for the kids to climb on, so we had some lunch, let the kids play, and waited for Mom, Stacey and Kayleb to arrive.
The Sand Harbor Theater is so cool! The chairs are in the sand! And the backdrop of Lake Tahoe is amazing!

Lunchtime

Playtime on the rocks!

My three babies!

Gotta love the timer mode on cameras, but not as much as I love the goofy smile on Tyler's face!

Mmmmm! Oreos!

Grandpa with his kids!

Yay! Grandma's here!

After lunch, and the arrival of Grandma and co., we headed down to the beach. Even though the water was FREEZING cold, the kids still had a blast!

Kayleb, say "Cheese!!!!"

After the beach, we headed to "Fanny Bridge". Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a shot of all of the "fannies", but it's so funny to drive past the bridge because all you see when you look out your window is fannies!!! Grandpa disappeared for a little while and came back bearing yummy treats! I guess I know now where I get my love for ice cream!
Fanny Bridge
The gang (minus Tyler)

Awwww....

Kami loving her ice cream!

So that's the end of Week 2! Only one week left! I can't believe it's taken me this long to post pictures of our trip home. I guess I'm just trying to make our vacation last as long as possible! :-)

California Adventures- Week 2, Part 1

2008-09-23T13:56:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I think it's about time that I wrap up posting about our CA trip, but alas, I still have Weeks 2 & 3, to go! And we were WAY busier during Weeks 2 & 3, than we were during Week 1. I'll try to keep it as brief as possible, but if you know me, well then you know that I really don't do brief. Let this be your warning! So, I think I'll start off Week 2, by posting my very first video on the blog. It's pretty self-explanatory, so enjoy!

The kids think this is a blast, and always look forward to cutting Grandpa's beard.

This time around actually involved a bit of a hair cut, too, which turned out, uh... interesting. Mom was able to clean it up the next day when Tyler, the kids and I took a little day trip to...

The Jelly Belly Factory! The Jelly Belly Factory is in Fairfield, about 45 min. away from my parents house, and they have FREE tours of the Factory! It's actually a really fun day out. I took Madi and Caiden back in 2003, when Tyler was deployed, and Kami and I went a year ago when we went home for my Dad's retirement/birthday. But Tyler had yet to go, so off we went! Despite getting a late start, and having to wait over an HOUR in line for the tour, the kids were very patient and well behaved. We all had a lot of fun, and especially loved our FREE bag of Jelly Belly's we got at the end of the tour! I highly recommend visiting, if you are ever in the area, but I also recommend getting there EARLY in the day so you DON'T have to wait in such a long Factory tour line.
Madi, Caiden, and "Jelly Man"

Mmmmmm, Jelly Belly's! What kind should we get?

Getting ready for the tour. Everyone gets those funny little hats, and you HAVE to wear them... factory rules!

See ya next time!

The weekend brought a visit from Tyler's Dad, Grandpa Tom, and his girlfriend Jeannie. We hadn't seen him since October 2005 when he came to visit us in North Carolina. He and Jeannie drove down from Reno, Saturday afternoon, and they treated us to a fun day of Bowling and dinner at Red Robin's!

I love watching Caiden bowl!

Madi and Caiden are just TOO cool!

Funny faces!

Once again, I am going to stop mid-week. It is just about time to get ready to pick up Thing 1 & Thing 2 (otherwise known as Madi and Caiden) from school, and then we are off to Stagestruck for "Velveteen Rabbit" auditions, where I will start my stint as one of three show producers! Should be fun! Hopefully Week 2, Part 2 will be posted in the next couple of days!

Grandpa's visit!

2008-09-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

So, for those of you who've been following my blog, you'll remember that almost a month ago my grandfather, Nagypapa, passed away. Well, my Dad decided to embark on a week-long road trip from SoCal, to Hilton Head Island, SC, with his sister who was taking Nagypapa's old car (literally, old... it's like an early 1980s Ford Wagon) home. After arriving safely in South Carolina, and spending a few days with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins, Dad hopped on a train up here. I had kept his visit a secret from the kids. So when the day came we told them we were going for a drive. And of course we were met with all kinds of "Where are we going"s, and "Are we almost there"s, and "Please tell us"s. We arrive at the train station, and tell them that we thought it would be cool to watch trains. They were still totally oblivious. After waiting for about 10 minutes, the train finally arrives. And the one and only passenger to step off was my Dad! Madi was the first to realize when she saw one of his bags before she saw him. She turned around and said "Grandpa!" to us, and then the other kids caught on and took off running to him! It was pretty cool to have pulled off a surprise like that! We had a great week with my Dad, and he was even able to go to one of Caiden's soccer games, which they won! The week came to an end all too quickly, however, and on Saturday after Kami's dance class, we headed up to Raleigh to take Dad to the airport. Here are some pictures from our visit!
Grandpa always makes sure to keep our freezer stocked with yummy ice cream treats whenever he's here!

Kamrynn loving on Grandpa

Eating palacintas! (A Hungarian treat... I imagine they are very similar to crepes)

Madi & Grandpa hanging out at Caiden's soccer practice.

Caiden & Grandpa

Hugs goodbye!

Thanks, Grandpa, for coming out and spending time with us!! As always, we had a great time, and can't wait for you to come back to Goldsboro... don't stay away too long!

Kami, the Ballerina

2008-09-22T11:27:00.002-04:00

For about the last year, when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, although there were numerous answers (typical of any pre-schooler), the one constant was that Kamrynn wanted to be a ballerina. So this year, Tyler and I (well, okay, it was all me) decided to enroll her in dance class. Unfortunately, Kamrynn's debut as a ballerina was thwarted by Tropical Storm Hanna. She was so disappointed that she had to wait a whole week before her first class. Since TS Hanna, Kami has had two dance classes and has LOVED every minute of it. My favorite part has been asking her what she learned in class, and letting her put on a "show" to tell me. But the most classic line yet? When showing me her plies,

Me: Kami, what did you learn at dance today?
Kami: (heels together, knees out, bending down and up) B-A, B-A, B-A
Me: (stifiling laughter) B-A? Do you mean "plie" ?
Kami: No! B-A! That's what my teacher said, and we're supposed to say it like this. (demonstrating her B-A's again) B-A, B-A.
Me: Oh, okay. Well, I love your "B-A's"

Kami in front of the dance studio.

Kami is doing her dance class with her best friend, Kylie.

Almost time for class to start!

Water Country, USA!

2008-09-05T16:12:00.004-04:00

Over Labor Day weekend, Tyler and I decided to take the kids to Water Country USA up in Williamsburg, VA. This trip came courtesy of Anheuser Busch and their "Hero Salute". Just about every year since 9/11, Anheuser Busch has given military servicemembers and their families (well up to 3 direct dependents) free admission to any of their parks (Sea World, Busch Gardens, Sesame Place, etc.) once a year. It's actually a pretty cool deal, and the kids have been to Sea World twice (once in San Diego and once in Orlando) thanks to them. So anyways... I've been trying to convince Tyler to go to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg for the last two years, but he just isn't a real theme park (especially roller coaster) person. We almost went this year, but decided that we would all have WAY more fun at Water Country, since the kids love to swim and they LOVE the waterslide at the pool on base. So we loaded up the van early Sunday morning and headed to Williamsburg for the three hour drive.

Caiden looking oh-so-excited to be going to Water Country. He is NOT a morning person!

The weather was a little cloudy and rainy on the way up, and even for the first hour or so we were there. But then the sun came out and it was a perfect day... not too hot or humid! We all had soooo much fun together! And what I loved about Water Country, was that there really wasn't but a couple slides that Kamrynn couldn't go on. Most places have height restrictions and such, but with the exception of a few rides, Kami could go on EVERYTHING as long as she wore her life jacket!!!

Madi making a splash in the Kid Zone!

They even had a couple "family" rides that we could all go on together! Those were WAY fun! One of the funniest parts of the day was when we went on the family ride called "Aquazoid". It was one of those waterslides in a pitch black tunnel. Well, I convinced the kids that we all needed to go on it. The whole time we were waiting Kami kept saying "I'm not going. I'm not going," or "I'm not going up, I'm just going down.. do you hear me?" So then we'd have to pick her up and move her to the next step. I know, Mom of the Year, right? We even brought out the bribes, but made no promises of: money, cookies, a new kitten. She finally said she would go when we mentioned the kitty. This girl has a memory like an elephant (isn't it elephants that never forget?), so imagine my surprise when almost one week has gone by and she STILL hasn't mentioned the kitten... thank goodness! And then when we're at the top I notice that the people who just go on were already at the bottom, and I make the BRILLIANT comment to Caiden and Kami: "See look guys! Those people just got on and now they're all done! That's how fast this ride is!" I was totally meaning to show them how quick it would be over, not how FAST the ride was! Yeah, again, Mom of the Year. Tyler just rolled his eyes and told me how smart I was. So it's finally our turn, and we all get on... Caiden and Kami VERY reluctantly. And off we go through pitch black! It was soooooooo much fun... we were all (well, Madi, Tyler and I)screaming and laughing the ENTIRE time! Caiden had this look of sheer terror when I did see his face and screamed "NO!!" the entire time...even after we got off and were walking away. Remember... Mom of the Year. And I don't know what Kami did... all I know is that she was all smiles when we got off and said she loved it! Even now she'll tell me that was her favorite part.
Our mid-day lunch break in the van. We went the cheap route and brought a picnic lunch from home!

Their bums are so cute!

We crammmed all we could into our 7 1/2 hours there! Then, exhausted and water logged, headed back to the van for the three hour trip back home!

Tired after a long fun day!

Kamrynn is 4!!!

2008-09-05T15:17:00.006-04:00

I cannot believe that 4 years (and one week) ago, our baby girl, Kamrynn Jean was born! She has added so much joy and laughter to our lives. Kami is so full of personality... there's never a dull moment around Kami! And although I'm a little biased, she's smart as a whip, too! We all love her so much and couldn't imagine our family without her!
Then....

... and now.

An Eddy Family Birthday tradition... homemade ice cream! Our favorite?!?! Mint Chocolate Chip!

So for Kamrynn's 4th birthday, we didn't really have a "party". But we did have two of her friends over for cake, ice cream, presents and a sleep over! We went to an early dinner as a family at our favorite restaurant... Torero's!
Dinner at Torero's

And then headed off to Caiden's soccer practice where Kami's friends, Kristin and Kylie, were brought to us. Then we headed home to "party". My attempt at Ariel. Not too bad if you don't look at her eyes... they're a little scary! I'm not sure I want to attempt this one.. or any other cake with human eyes again!

"Happy Birthday to you...."

Kylie, Kamrynn and Kristin- I LOVE this picture!!!

Yay! A new book!

Ariel plate and bowl...anyone sensing a theme here?

After dessert and presents, we all watched the new "Little Mermaid" movie and the girls (including Madi, and even Caiden) all slept in the living room. Kylie fell asleep first, and then Kamrynn. When Tyler and I went to bed around 11pm, Kristin, Madi and Caiden were STILL awake watching Noggin! I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer (in fact they'd been closing off and on since about 9:30), so I handed over the remote to Madi with strict instructiosn to turn off the TV after the show was over. I didn't hear a peep from the kids until about 7am the next morning! The next morning, I made pancakes for breakfast, and then it was off to the bowling alley!
Mmmmm, pancakes!!

The little ones made it about 3/4 of the way through the first game before they were done, tired, and hungry. So they played in the playroom directly behind us, while Madi and Caiden finished that game and bowled a 2nd. A mid-bowling snack!

After that we took the girls home. Kamrynn had so much fun with her friends, and was so tired that she took a 3 1/2 hour nap when we got home!!!!
Exhausted after a night of partying! This is how Kami looked when we peeked in on her that afternoon... seriously!!

She had a VERY happy 4th Birthday!!!

Hurricane, Shmurricane!

2008-09-05T13:17:00.003-04:00

Okay, so maybe I'm naive. Maybe it's inexperience. Or maybe it's just plain stupidity! However, I cannot seem to understand what in the world all the fuss is over Hurricane Hanna. First of all, last I checked it still wasn't a Hurricane... still just a tropical storm. Second of all, although the rain has started, it still is just RAIN... nothing major! So why on earth did the schools close at 12 noon today! Now, Ike I can see them getting a little concerned about. Isn't that like a Category 4 already? Ike is still about a week or so away, though. Tyler has been complaining since Tuesday of the base going into "freak out mode", too. Although he did mention something last night about taxpayer dollars and multi-million dollar aircraft and equipment, yadda yadda yadda... so I guess maybe the Air Force has a somewhat valid reason to err on the side of caution. But come on people... is a little rain really worth shutting schools down THREE hours early?!?!? Now, please don't get me wrong about the destruction and devastation hurricanes have caused. My heart and prayers go out to those who are truly impacted, and suffering because of hurricanes. I am just talking about what has been happening locally, or in "my neck of the woods". At any rate, if Hurricane Hanna hasn't blown my house into the wonderful land of OZ, I'll be sure to report back, and let y'all know just how "bad" this storm was.

California Adventures, Week 1- Part 2

2008-09-02T14:04:00.007-04:00

After Mini-Golf and In-N-Out, we headed home. I really don't remember what happened when we got home, but Kamrynn had gotten upset with someone and went to "hide". Awhile later I began to wonder where Kamrynn had gone to, so I went to go look for her. And this is what I found...
Kami had crawled under the futon in my old room, and had fallen asleep!!

Poor thing was soooo tired, that she didn't even wake up when we pulled her out from under the futon!!

After I finished posting Part 1, I realized that there really wasn't much left of Week 1, except for the Boys Only Camping trip. Dad, Tyler and Caiden left the morning after we went Mini-Golfing, and headed up to the Sierras to spend a few nights camping, hiking, and fishing. They took Stacey's truck, and my Dad's little fishing boat that Nagypapa had given him. The boys came back stinky and dirty, but they all had a GREAT time! Some of my favorite pictures from the entire vacaction were taken on this little excursion, courtesy of my Dad. He and Tyler decided to let Caiden take a turn steering the boat, and well, just look at the pictures to see how it went!

These pictures make me laugh every time I see them! I love the look of pure happiness on Caiden's crazy, cross-eyed, dirty face!

Here are a few more of my favorite pictures from the Boys Only Camping trip.
Tyler and Caiden doing some male bonding.

One of the only things Tyler wanted to do in California was "REAL" fishing. He is not very fond of NC fishing. He caught the first 2 trout on this trip!

My Dad and his catch.

Tyler and Caiden proudly showing off their fish.

Mmmmm.... Dinner!

Hiking

Anyone want to guess what is happening in this picture?

Look at those views! There is nothing like the Sierra Mountains!!!

Getting ready to skip rocks

Caiden and Grandpa

Playing with fire

Wassup?

I hope this is a busy posting week, so check back frequently! Coming soon... Kami's 4th birthday, Water Country, and California Adventures, Week 2!

For Nagypapa

2008-08-27T11:13:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, August 26, 2008, Nagypapa passed away. Just one week earlier, he celebrated his 85th birthday with the majority of his family there to commemorate the occasion. Before his birthday celebration, he was told that he had cancer in his spine, and it was later detected that he had masses on his lungs as well. On Saturday, he was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. My Dad was there by his side through it all, and I am so thankful that Nagypapa did not appear to be in any pain when he died. Although I am very sad that I won't see him again in this life, it is very comforting to know that not only is he in Heaven, but that he is now reunited with his loving wife.

Nagypapa was an amazing, strong and proud man, who sacrificed so much for the sake of his family. In 1956, he and Nagymama fled from Hungary with their four young children. My Dad was only about 14 months old at the time. He left because the country was being taken over by Communists. It's an amazing story, really, one that I am proud to tell everyone. My Uncle Lou, who was the oldest at the time, described it best in an article for his local newspaper commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. He wrote: " So, 200,000 people- my family among them- began to make their way towards the Austrian border. My parents bundled up four children -ages 15 months to 10 years- and headed out on foot towards the border, a trip of some 200 plus miles. Where ever we could we hitched rides on trucks headed for the border, rode some buses and trains going in our direction. If no transport was available, we walked. The trip took about three days. Getting lodging for the two nights was an experience We knocked on doors to see who had room and would take in a family of six. Luckily, there were two homes that made us welcome. The head of the household which took us in the second night knew where to cross the border. He had a tractor and a flat-bed. When it came time to leave, he had us lie on the flat-bed and covered us with hay and took us...a few kilometers from Austria. On Nov. 13, 1956, we crossed the border on foot." Uncle Lou goes on to write: "The next three weeks were spent in refugee camps throughout the Austrian countryside. During our last week in Austria, we were housed in a church facility in Vienna. Mom and Dad spent most of the day in lines along with thousands of others seeking exit visas to the United States or some other western countries. On Dec. 10, nearly a month after we left Budapest, we were placed aboard a U. S. military flight headed across the Atlantic." They landed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. There, they eventually made contact with a man of German-Hungarian ancestry, who was living in Southern California. He made a few phone calls and arranged for his church in SoCal to sponsor the Banas family to California. So on December 13, 1956, they arrived in Southern California, where it was reported they were the first Hungarian refugees to arrive in L.A. Nagypapa was even interviewed for the newspaper, radio, and was even on T.V. And the rest is pretty much history.

The Banas family in Southern California. My Dad is the baby being held by Nagymama.

My Dad, Nagypapa, and Uncle Lou, in Budapest, Hungary, October 2006 celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution

This was the last time we saw Nagypapa... Christmas 2004. Kami was only four months old.

Nagypapa holding his newest Great-Grandbaby.

Thank you so much Nagypapa, for all the sacrifices you made to protect yourself and your family. I will forever be grateful. I love you with all my heart. You will be greatly missed. Rest in peace.

First Day of School!

2008-08-25T18:40:00.007-04:00

Well, the 2008-2009 School Year has officially started! We had our "Open House" night last Thursday, and we got to meet each of the kids teachers. I requested both of the kids teacher's this year, and thankfully got my requests. Madison's teacher was actually her student teacher for part of her 3rd grade year. And now she has her own class! Mrs. Pittman has actually known Madi since Kindergarten, since she was a Kindergarten assisstant at the time. So it's kind of neat for her to actually be her teacher now. I'm very excited about 4th grade for Madi, and I think it's going to be a great year for her!

Caiden on the other hand, had me a little worried. Even though I requested his teacher (at the suggestion of his 1st grade teacher), this is the first year that he has not known his teacher ahead of time. So we went into the Open House night a little more blind than usual. But I got a wonderful first impression that night. Caiden, on the other hand, didn't know quite what to think....
So naturally, I was a little concerned this morning, especially since he's been begging to be home-schooled for the past few weeks. But he asked me to walk him to class, so I did. Now for those of you that don't know Caiden... although he is very much "boy", he is also very sensitive and shy, and a pretty big "Momma's boy". He has ALWAYS hated being separated from me. And walking him to class only makes it worse... so my rule is that I'll only do it if he asks. My only hope was that his best friend, Declan (who's also in his class), would beat us to school and already be waiting for Caiden. Well, we beat Declan, but we saw that one of his good buddies that was in his Kindergarten class was now in his 2nd grade class. So that put a smile on his face. Declan arrived shortly after we did and sat down next to Caiden, and I was so proud of him! This was the first time that he hasn't cried on the first day of school! Here he is looking a little nervous...

Both kids came home all smiles and they both LOVE their teacher! And of course they came home with tons of homework... FOR ME!!!! I have to admit, that I hate the first day of school for that reason... I swear I sign my name more times on this one day then I do for an entire year! Oh well, at least for now the kids are happy. Here's to a GREAT 08/09 School Year!!!!

To be continued....

2008-08-24T15:38:00.004-04:00

So I am still on Week 1!!! And I apologize that you are going to have to read it from the bottom to top, but I can't figure out how else to do it! So find the post titled "California Adventures, Week 1" and start there! However, laundry and dinner time prep are calling me.... so I guess you'll just have to stay tuned!!! Hopefully I can finish Week 1 tonight, but it is our very first school night of the new 2008-2009 School Year... so we'll see! Hard to believe that Madi and Caiden are going into 4th and 2nd grades.... they used to be so little! Here they are, each on their first day of Kindergarten (2004 & 2006, respectively)!

Hard to believe that this will be Kamrynn in just one VERY short year!!!! New 2008-2009 First Day of School pictures will be appearing on our blog VERY soon!!!

But anyways... keep checking back for more CA trip updates! I'll have to admit that this is taking way longer than I intended. I'm sure it doesn't help that between my Dad, a camera I gave the kids, and myself, we took over 1,000 pictures during our vacation!!!

The REAL Miniature Golf!

2008-08-24T15:19:00.004-04:00

Tyler and I have wanted to take the kids Miniature Golfing for forever, now, but all the places they have here in NC are soooo generic and rinky-dink, compared with what we grew up with. So we jumped at the chance to take the whole crew to a REAL mini-golf course!

We went the day after Madi's birthday, so I loaded up on Advil (remember... still sick), loaded up the two vehicles with all NINE of us, and headed to Golfland/Sunsplash. Although we had a blast, let me just say that trying to play mini-golf with a group of nine makes for a VERY interesting experience!

The whole gang!

Tyler helping Kami

Taking a break

Attempting the loop-de-loop

Caiden in front of the Castle hole.

Madi winding up.

Tyler and Caiden retrieving a lost ball

After mini-golf, we took our first of two trips to In-N-Out Burger. The second trip was necessary since I was not feeling so hot this first time around and I was barely able to eat anything. I managed to eat some tasty french fries, and a couple bites of burger. The second trip a couple weeks later was MUCH tastier!!!

The boys

The girls... and Kayleb!

Miss Madi is 9!!!!!

2008-08-24T15:18:00.000-04:00

I managed to (barely) make it through Miss Madi's 9th birthday! That was the biggest event that took place during Week 1. Oh yeah, and my Grandma and Grandpa drove up from SoCal to spend the weekend with us as well. We started off Madi's birthday weekend with an All-Girls (plus Kayleb) shopping trip on Saturday. Madi and I hit the jackpot at her new favorite store, Limited, Too. Then on Sunday, Madi's REAL birthday, my sister, Stacey, told us about this really cool place called John's Incredible Pizza Place (or something like that), that was similar to Chuck E. Cheese, but WAY better. So we decided to go there to celebrate Madi's big day. Let me just tell you, this place was like Chuck E. Cheese on steroids! Talk about sensory overload!!!! They had this HUGE pizza, pasta, salad, dessert, etc. buffet, with at least 3 or 4 different themed dining rooms. And then they had the MASSIVE game room! They even had some carnival-esque rides.. mini-roller coaster, bumper cars, etc. We had a blast! It was a great way to start off her birthday.

Standing out front!

The whole gang enjoying our buffet lunch

Getting ready to ride "The Hopper"

And then stopping the ride soon after the start, so that Kami could get off! She did NOT like this ride!

Madi & Caiden getting ready to ride the roller coaster

The gang playing "Deal or No Deal"

Kayleb and "Uncle"

After John's Incredible Pizza, we headed home for presents cake and ice cream. We went a little crazy with the cake and ordered a big one from Costco. I think Mom and Dad might just STILL have some cake left in their fridge. The cake was HUGE, but very tasty, though!
New smell good lotion!

Disney Scene It

Madi and her 9th birthday cake!

Make a wish!

California Adventures, Week 1

2008-08-24T14:35:00.007-04:00

Okay, so as promised here is a post and pictures from our trip to Cali! I figured I'd better get this thing started before school starts tomorrow, because once school starts, I'm sure I'll have all kinds of new pictures and updates to post!

So I'll basically summarize Week 1 by saying how CRAPPY it was... at least for me. Thanks to the wonderful docs at the base clinic here who neglected to call me and get my prescriptions put in before I left... I spent the ENTIRE first week of our trip sick with fever, chills, nausea, back pain, etc. due to a major UTI. I was MISERABLE, and only survived because of my new best friend... Advil! Once I finally got a hold of the clinic and begged a very nice Airman to please give me my results because I'd been sick for the last week, they faxed my prescription to a local pharmacy and I was able to get my meds. Needless to say, I was NOT very happy. Here's Kami & I... excited to get to California!