tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22962763985621190282023-11-16T01:02:01.735-05:00Ramblings of a Wife and MotherRachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05805488271969592754noreply@blogger.comBlogger448125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-53157933582038287522013-10-09T08:53:00.001-04:002015-09-07T16:31:27.452-04:00Our Home School<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: left;">
In mid-July this summer, just a couple of weeks before the mad rush for school supplies, Marcus and I made the decision to try homeschooling the boys. So far, it has been a smashing hit for all involved. The kids love it, I love it and Marcus loves it. All for different reasons, but with equal fervor :) <br />
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The boys love not being rushed in the morning, learning at their own pace and having more time to play together (the structured part of our school day only lasts 3-4 hours). Caleb liked school last year, but he has assured me multiple times that he likes homeschooling much more. Ethan was not fond of preschool (hated it at age 3 and tolerated it at age 4), and he strutted around like he'd won the lottery when he found out he was going to get to do kindergarten at home :) Lydia loves having her brothers around during the day, playing "school" at her little craft table, and not being in the car for 2+ hours a day (like last year). <br />
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Marcus loves being exempt from the struggle with his coworkers for time off during school breaks (we can vacation whenever!), he loves Ethan doing first grade math because that's what he's ready for instead of his learning being confined to the parameters set by his grade. Marcus also enjoys talking to the kids about what they learned that day, and being able to get answers out of them since their teacher is sitting right there! He is great at adding perspectives to their science and math lessons, and when he can, he likes to do their science experiments with them. <br />
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I love all of the above, and I also LOVE learning with the kids, being with them all the time, hardly ever rushing (and never first thing in the morning), and feeling free to enroll them in activities without eroding the little bit of free time a school day would allow them. I love how connected the three kids are, both to each other and to me. <br />
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Last year, Caleb was always so tired when he got home from his 8-hour school day that he just wanted some down time, mostly alone. Ethan wanted to play, and I wanted to talk to Caleb about his day, but he just wanted to chill. I felt most of the time like I had no idea what he was learning or thinking or experiencing. He always said he had a good day, and his teacher always said he behaved well and was having no trouble keeping up, but I still felt very disconnected from him. And Ethan struggled so much to behave himself in preschool. He really, truly gave it his best. Unfortunately for him, there is something in his nature that goes nuts when you put him in a classroom with 10+ other kids. It was all he could do to control himself for 3 hours a day last year, and I dreaded putting his self-control to the test for an 8-hour kindergarten day. Ethan rarely struggles with impulsivity when he's at home or in very small groups, so his behavior has been smooth sailing since he finished preschool six months ago. His self-esteem has soared, and he is the smart, funny, kind, hardworking little boy that I've always seen beneath the classroom behavioral struggles. <br />
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I don't say things like this as often as I should, but I believe to the core of my being that homeschooling was God's idea, and that he impressed it upon my heart through repeated encounters, conversations, and heart-nudgings all summer long. I had no inkling of teaching my kids at home when school let out in the spring! But God did his work on both of our hearts, and we are thankful for the blessings upon blessings we and our children are receiving already!</div>
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-57386652766127373972013-10-07T21:13:00.001-04:002015-09-07T16:31:56.384-04:00Fall Camping<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: left;">Our family took its first Tennessee camping trip this past weekend at Fall Creek Falls State Park. This park was by far the prettiest place I've ever camped, and maybe the prettiest state park I've ever been to. I don't have much time these days for writing blog posts, but, thanks to Picasa, it only takes a couple of minutes to post pictures :)</span></div>
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Lydia is standing at our campsite in this picture, and the camp play ground was so close that we could sit around the fire while watching the kids enjoy the playset.</div>
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I took this picture from our campsite as well. Marcus brought our pop-up goals, and there was a field next to our site perfect for pick-up games. We had about half a dozen kids join in the soccer fun over the weekend.</div>
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Lydia with Marcus's college roommate, Brian Borgman</div>
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Our friends from college days, Brian and Gena Borgman.<br />
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-91000883022388206392013-02-26T19:47:00.003-05:002013-02-26T19:47:49.434-05:00"It Goes That Long?!?"Ethan is into asking everyone he meets how old he or she is. He knows the exact ages of lots of people in our lives. One of those people is our babysitter, Amber, who is 25-years-old. The other day, she and Ethan were chatting in my presence, and Amber made a reference to getting something done for school. Ethan stopped short. He looked incredulously at her and said, "You go to school?" Then he turned his incredulous look to me and blurted out "It goes THAT LONG?!?" Ethan, unlike his brother, is not school's biggest fan, and he was flabbergasted to learn that school continues for many well into their third decade. He was so discouraged by this news of interminable education that I didn't have the heart to tell him that his dad just finished "school" last year :)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/haleym82/5870274883/" title="rachelsignature by HaleyM82, on Flickr"><img alt="rachelsignature" height="70" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3256/5870274883_73eb3348aa_m.jpg" width="170" /></a>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-62624408704901739662013-02-20T08:00:00.000-05:002013-02-20T08:15:33.270-05:00Great Wolf Lodge<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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For our first little adventure of 2013, we had made plans to join our college friends, Alli and Damon Herren, for a weekend at the <a href="http://www.greatwolf.com/mason/waterpark/overview">Great Wolf Lodge</a> in Mason, Ohio. Unfortunately, Marcus ended up having to stay home and cover call at the hospital, so Nanna extended her visit and stood in for him so the kids wouldn't lose their much-anticipated trip. It took us about six hours to drive up to Mason, and the trip there went smoothly. When we arrived in the huge, three-story lobby of the lodge, Caleb looked all around and said in awe, "Ohio is AWESOME." </div>
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I can't speak for all of Ohio, but Great Wolf Lodge is pretty amazing. There is an entire water park inside the lodge, just a short walk from our spacious room. The kids had so much fun enjoying every part of the water park and playing with the magic wand that opened treasure chests all over the lodge. And I had so much fun catching up with my college bestie and her husband, also a good friend from the semester we all three studied abroad in Athens, Greece. Alli has two little ones, Kyla (age 3) and Lana (age 1). Lydia enjoyed the little girls, and Ethan and Kyla really hit it off as well. One night, they got to have a late-night play date from 9:00 to 10:00 while Kyla's parents did the big-kid water slides (all the other kids were asleep). Kyla and Ethan sat on the couch and made up silly stories together about Kyla's favorite stuffed animal, a llama. I'm afraid Ethan may have interjected a little violence into the stories (llama was being very naughty and killing other imaginary animals), but they sure enjoyed each other! Alli's girls are precious and I'm so glad I had a chance to get to know them at these ages. </div>
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Caleb was tall enough to ride everything in the park (just barely) and he ended up getting on all but two of the water slides. (The only reason he didn't get to those two was because Nanna and Ethan weren't feeling well the last day, so we didn't spend as much time in the water as we'd planned.) Most of the time, Nanna hung out in the toddler area with Lydia, while I followed the boys around to where they wanted to go, snatching a minute to chat with Alli as often as I could. Lydia enjoyed the smaller water slides and wading in the water with Nanna, though she did get cold much faster than the boys, so we either warmed her up in towels or in the hot tub. She also tired out faster and spent more time in the room with Nanna than the boys did. Though the boys had much more stamina than Lydia, when they got too cold in the lazy river or the wave pool or in one of the long water-slide lines, they took their turn resting in the huge hot tub (more of a hot pool) as well. It couldn't quite be a great vacation without our very own Super Dad, but it was as good as it could be in the circumstances, and I am ever-so-grateful to Nanna for making it possible!</div>
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-7671849098570385532013-02-19T08:00:00.000-05:002015-09-07T16:32:19.749-04:00Nanna Is Here<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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Nanna is here for a visit and it so wonderful to have her! The kids are all getting spoiled :) Lydia gets rocked all the way to sleep every night, Ethan has an adult who always says yes when he wants to play a board game, and Caleb has another ear to listen to him read. She even sits upstairs with the boys when they play Wii and cheers on their every move. I love it!</div>
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-1679329286298787832013-02-18T08:00:00.000-05:002013-02-18T08:00:16.747-05:00Jiu Jitsu<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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Since soccer ended in November, the boys have been taking weekly martial arts classes at the Jiu Jitsu Academy here in town. They call it fighting class, and for good reason. Class starts with running circles around the mat (presumably to burn off the excess energy the kids arrive with). Then they line up on the wall and do drills across the mat. All the drills are named after an animal and involve some unique way of getting from one side of the mat to the other. Bear Crawl is sort of a loping on all four limbs. Ostrich is a two-legged sprint. Cheetah is a bounding two limbs at a time. Alligator is an army crawl. There are two or three others, but that's all I can remember. </div>
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Next, they circle up and play Simon Says to practice being still and listening. Ethan is usually one of the first ones out :) After that, they line up in a straight line and the instructors show them which fighting move they are going to work on next. After the demonstrations, the instructors call the students up one at a time and practice the move one-on-one. The catch is that the student has to be sitting criss-cross apple sauce, perfectly still and at attention in order to be called. This was not easy for Ethan, but he still managed to enjoy the class. </div>
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At the end is the kids favorite part: dodge ball, instructors vs. students. Caleb is extremely good at this dodge ball game, and he has won the class-wide game more than a dozen times. He shadows the most accurate instructor (staying out of sight) and plays a waiting game until most of the kids are out. Then he puts himself into it physically 100%, running, dodging and ducking. He wins so much that they all target him, and it is amazing that he is still pulling off regular wins. One time, it was down to Caleb and two other guys and the instructors were targeting Caleb. Ethan started chanting, "Go Ca-leb! Go Ca-leb!" He tapped a few other kids around him and soon had the whole crew chanting "Go Ca-leb! Go Ca-leb!" Caleb won that night, but I was even more proud of Ethan for supporting his brother like that.</div>
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-22736887332183647542013-02-15T08:06:00.000-05:002013-02-15T08:38:09.060-05:00Valentine's Day<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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About a week ago, I was laying in bed with Caleb just before bed, chatting about his day. I asked him what kind of Valentine cards he wanted me to buy for him to pass out to his friends at school. I suggested Legos, or Star Wars, or Batman, all of which were greeted with silence. Then, in a voice that revealed he'd given the matter some deep thought and reached a non-negotiable decision, Caleb said: "I want to make my valentines. I don't want to buy them at a store. I want to put stickers on them and write a note to each of my friends." I inwardly groaned. But, not wanting to discourage his giving heart, I ordered some very basic supplies and we went to work. With 20 pieces of card stock & envelopes, my Creative Memories software, a Lego sticker book, a roll of heart stickers, some M&M fun packs, and a lot of time, we created personalized Valentine's for each of Caleb's friends. It is very sweet how much he loves each of his classmates, and the little notes he dictated really gave me some insight to his relationships with each one. So the project was almost worth the devotion of every single second that Caleb and I had together for three days :). And when I factor in his huge smile when I dropped him off at school yesterday, then it was totally worth it.</div>
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-24486550094625472812013-02-14T11:33:00.003-05:002013-02-14T11:35:46.484-05:00New Computer!!!I think we can attribute a large amount of my current blogging fervor to the new computer that Marcus bought for me last week. I had been using the same Dell computer since we were newlyweds in 2003, and it was a constant source of frustration. It froze all the time, it had no available memory, it couldn't read DVDs, it couldn't handle updates without crashing, and every day I wondered if today would be the day it didn't come on at all. But all that is over now! Marcus picked out and ordered me a super-awesome Asus computer with tons of memory and hard drive space and Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010. Did I mention all the hard drive space? It is so fast! And I can have several programs open at once without freezing it up! At the moment, I can't remember ever getting a gift that I've enjoyed more than this one. Thanks, babe!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/haleym82/5870274883/" title="rachelsignature by HaleyM82, on Flickr"><img alt="rachelsignature" height="70" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3256/5870274883_73eb3348aa_m.jpg" width="170" /></a>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-70600949669533229072013-02-13T11:12:00.000-05:002013-02-15T11:13:27.598-05:00Reading, Reading, Reading<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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My six-year-old is addicted to reading. Anytime he is allowed to sit undisturbed (in the car, downtime at home, waiting at the doctor's office, etc.) he has his nose buried in a chapter book. He has read six chapter books in the past two weeks (4 from the Magic Treehouse series, <i>Little House in the Big Woods</i> and another one I can't remember from his school library). Today was the clincher. Caleb, a media junkie who savors every minute of the rationed media-time he gets each day, was riding home from school while a movie played on our minivan's entertainment system. While Ethan was engrossed in <i>Swiss Family Robinson</i>, Caleb tuned it all out and kept his face buried in his latest Magic Treehouse book, never even glancing up at the movie. This was an unprecedented event. Until today, I don't know that I've ever seen Caleb in the same room with a flickering screen without also seeing him staring at it. Yesterday, I took his book away for the evening as a consequence for being grumpy and mildly disrespectful at dinner. I don't think he has been that devastated since we withdrew his Peter Pan-pretending privileges when he was three. Who is this child?</div>
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-48241947255075682542013-02-11T13:40:00.003-05:002013-02-11T13:42:18.891-05:00Funny KidsThe kids have been full of funny stuff lately. Here are the stories/conversations that I can remember:<br />
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#1 Nanna is here for a visit, and the other day, she and Caleb were playing chess. Ethan was watching (and contributing his ideas to the game). At one point, Caleb and Ethan were discussing the possible results of a move that Caleb was considering, when Nanna looked back and forth between the two sides of the board and said, "Wait a second, I'm confused." Ethan didn't miss a beat. He broke off from his conversation with Caleb, turned towards Nanna, and said, "That's because you're sixty-one."<br />
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#2 Caleb walked up to Nanna and watched her mending one of Ethan's superhero costumes. He was impressed with her skill and told her that he and Ethan had never seen <i>me </i>sewing. Caleb didn't give her very long to enjoy her burst of superiority, though. His very next sentence was, "Maybe she will start sewing when she's old."<br />
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#3 This story doesn't really have a punch line, but it is still cute. Lydia has her very own unique sense of humor. She frequently cracks herself up with some joke that she initiates. This week, she is fake-whining for about two seconds, and then cracking up saying "I whined! I whined!" The whole sequence is hilarious and even makes Caleb and Ethan laugh.<br />
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#4 Nanna, Ethan and I were in the van together. Ethan was talking about a tooth that he thought was loose. I told him that he probably didn't have a loose tooth, since he is only four and most kids don't start losing their teeth until they are in 1st grade. He was quiet for a moment and then said thoughtfully, "But Mommy, I'm not very much like most kids." Nanna and I burst out laughing, assuring him that he had an excellent point.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/haleym82/5870274883/" title="rachelsignature by HaleyM82, on Flickr"><img alt="rachelsignature" height="70" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3256/5870274883_73eb3348aa_m.jpg" width="170" /></a>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-53669775991531567452013-01-31T13:05:00.000-05:002013-02-02T14:51:06.138-05:00ChristmasI have been working on our family scrapbook the past week, and in the process I've been reading over blog entries from 2010. I realized that without the blog, I would have no idea what we'd been up to three years ago. And that has motivated me once again to sign on and write something about our lives as often as I can.<br />
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So, I'll start with a quick recap of Christmas. This was the best Christmas that I can ever remember having, and it was primarily because we stayed home the whole break and just enjoyed being together as a family. Nanna and Papa came and spent a few days with us, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The whole two weeks out of school, the kids and I enjoyed our break from a daily schedule and just hung out around the house all day every day. We played board games, built Legos, explored outside, played Wii, built a marble race, and took just about every toy and puzzle in the house out of its box at some point in the two weeks. It was wonderful. It felt like when the boys were little, before Caleb started kindergarten, and we had no agenda except learning and playing together.<br />
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Another thing that made this Christmas fun for me is that this is the first year that I have been able to buy presents for our kids. Before this year, when Marcus was in med school and residency, everything under our tree came from grandparents or other family. And I have to admit I went a little nuts this year. The boys got new bikes, Star Wars and superhero Lego sets, books, toy guns, a few movies and the biggie, a zip line in our backyard! Lydia got a rocking horse, two Elmo movies, books, a new doll, and six stuffed Sesame street characters, which she surprised us all by correctly naming as each one came out of the wrapping paper. Nanna and Papa brought Caleb a magic set and a Mario Wii game, Ethan a wrestling pillow and a stomp rocket, and Lydia a beautiful wooden doll high chair and crib. I loved waking up in my own house and seeing their excited, sleep-fresh faces first thing on Christmas morning. They were all so cute in their Christmas PJs (except Lydia, whose diaper had leaked in hers, so she was wearing a Christmas dress). After they opened presents, I cooked Christmas dinner (first time to try a standing rib roast, and thanks to my friend's awesome recipe, it was amazing). All-in-all, it was the most relaxed and enjoyable Christmases that I've had in my adult life, and it reminded me very much of Christmas when I was a child.<br />
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In closing, a few words about the Santa thing. We had a lot of questions at our house about Santa this year. Neither Marcus nor I are big on the Santa thing, and I feel strongly about not lying to the kids, particularly about something that is so psychologically similar to their faith in God. Each year, I avoid the Santa questions. When Caleb was four, he backed me into a corner with his questions, so I told him that Santa is something fun that we pretend, like superheros and Disney characters. I don't think we got that far the year that he was five (successful dodging :), and by Christmas this year, he'd forgotten that conversation two years earlier. And he had totally bought into the whole Santa thing from movies and friends and just the culture around him. He talked about Santa like he talked about God, hoping that Santa would see his good deeds, etc. etc. <br />
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All of this really bothered me, because Caleb's faith in God is so pure and complete, and I hated hearing him talk in the same way about a fictional character. So this time, I forced the conversation. I told him that Santa was something that is fun to pretend, just like superheros and Disney. He did not take it so well this time. He reacted emotionally and accused me of "not believing enough" (thank you Polar Express). But we talked through it, and everything eventually seemed to be back on track. I even remembered to tell him that many of his friends believe in Santa and it would be better to allow them to talk to there parents about it rather than hear unpleasant news from him. Unfortunately, before I had a chance to have this same conversation with Ethan, Caleb took care of it. And before I realized this and talked to Ethan about bursting <i>his </i>friends' bubbles, he had already announced to his whole class that Santa was pretend, and argued vehemently with his teachers when they tried to redirect the conversation. Oh well, you can't win them all.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/haleym82/5870274883/" title="rachelsignature by HaleyM82, on Flickr"><img alt="rachelsignature" height="70" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3256/5870274883_73eb3348aa_m.jpg" width="170" /></a>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-78546990535629591442012-11-02T22:16:00.007-04:002012-11-03T07:02:49.667-04:00Zion National Park Vacation (Part 1)<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px;">
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During Fall Break at Caleb's school, the five of us joined my parents and my brother's family at Zion National Park for a whole-family vacation! We planned this almost a year ago, and everything was even better than Dad promised it would be :) The villa was gorgeous and huge, Zion National Park was the perfect playground for our kids, and we didn't see so much as the scat of a bear! The weather was nice, a little cold first thing in the morning, but in the 60's during the most active part of the day. I liked it because I never broke a sweat in all the miles of hiking we did.<br />
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Despite the fact that our travel took us through all four of the continental U.S. time zones, the kids did remarkably well. They were tired the whole week (I had to get up with at least one kid by 5:00 am every day), but they were only mildly whiny and still had a great time. Caleb had the hardest time with the lack of sleep because he needs more sleep than Ethan does, and he can almost never catch up during the day, so his tolerance level for frustration just stayed a little low all week. Ethan did great, rolling with the 5:00 am wakings and catching a nap when he could. Lydia got enough sleep, but she cut her first molar the day we got back and was struggling with a cold the whole week, so she spent quite a bit more time being unhappy than is usual for her. All the kids loved playing in the backyard with their cousins, and Caleb and Ethan loved all the hikes and exploratory trips that we took them on.</div>
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Aunt Jennifer and the boys hanging out in the backyard of the villa.</div>
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Jasper (far left), Bennett, Ethan & Caleb</div>
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Another shot of the villa's backyard, with a better view of the beautiful desert/mountain formations all over Zion.</div>
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Ethan looking cute and contemplative. </div>
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Ethan throwing rocks in the Virgin River, the main body of water the park and the "creator" of Zion canyon.</div>
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Our most exciting wildlife sighting: a squirrel that stole a granola bar from my brother's backpack :)</div>
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All of us taking a break during a hike, completely unaware that we were being profiled by a squirrel.</div>
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We took a day trip the Grand Canyon. </div>
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This picture is at the end of short hike out to Bright Angel Point. The path was treacherous enough that I left Lydia back with her Papa.</div>
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Mom and Dad, after her hike out to Bright Angel Point.</div>
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The four cousins showing off their muscles. Youngest to oldest: Jasper, Ethan, Bennett, Caleb</div>
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Lydia. Just to prove she was there :). We did leave her back at the villa a lot with Nanna, but both she and Nanna had a great time hanging out.</div>
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Family shot at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon </div>
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-85328734710823560672012-11-02T20:40:00.001-04:002012-11-12T12:25:04.357-05:00Zion National Park Vacation (Part 2)<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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I kept getting shut down putting all the pictures I wanted on the last post, so I just made it into two.</div>
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For me, the highlight of the trip was a 15-mile hike that Dad talked Marcus and I into taking with him. At first, the night that we were all talking about it, it sounded like great fun and I was all for it. But the next day I found out that the 15.5 miles also included 3,600 feet of elevation change. The longest hike Marcus and I had ever been on was 14.5 miles, and we had split that into two days! Dad told us that he did this one in Zion in 7 hours. I started getting worried that my 66-year-old father was going to leave me in the dust, but I couldn't see a way out of it, so I arranged a babysitter for the kids, packed our Camelbaks, and we headed out early the next morning. <br />
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I am so glad I didn't back out, because that hike was absolutely gorgeous. I have no pictures because Dad brought his camera for all of us, but so many of those views are seared into my memory. In some ways, it was very like that other long hike we took 10 years ago in Southern China (Tiger Leaping Gorge), in that more than half the trail was edged into the side of a mountain and there was a several-thousand-foot drop just to our left much of the time. But the first few miles of the hike made it even better than the other: it was on a ridge overlooking miles and miles of Zion National Park, often with 360-degree views. Marcus had some fun with his iPhone 5 camera taking panoramic photos. I just couldn't stop soaking it all in. We were beat at the end of the day, and Marcus's knee was pretty sore for more than 24-hours, but we were both extremely glad that we had that time with nature and with our companions.<br />
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The most fun we had with the boys was taking them exploring (with Papa) off the beaten path. The first couple of days, we went on hikes spelled out on the park map. But on our day trip to the Grand Canyon, we drove through a beautiful part of the park that was just begging to be explored. So the next day, we drove back there, parked on the side of the road, and started walking. Walking up the rock formations afforded beautiful views, and walking down almost always led us to a little hidden canyon with a sandy floor. The boys rock-climbed to their hearts content, and even learned how to pull cactus spurs out of their hands without crying. Most of these pictures are from our two days of exploring.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdEDsWtphWZlMiPFTLDVQVyA9JCu6nsLf8Cj7XmgBf_SxCUiFeHAH9nvDu_4ekrj3IYMb8ZubT17O56164vqP6XcIovXWvY8y_AaMQba8AVJRk0RYyjXGt3Y9Ztvia2jPHJzEyG0dgqs/s1600/DSC_0371.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdEDsWtphWZlMiPFTLDVQVyA9JCu6nsLf8Cj7XmgBf_SxCUiFeHAH9nvDu_4ekrj3IYMb8ZubT17O56164vqP6XcIovXWvY8y_AaMQba8AVJRk0RYyjXGt3Y9Ztvia2jPHJzEyG0dgqs/s320/DSC_0371.JPG" /></a> </div>
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Though it was a little later in the fall, we still discovered a few trees still sporting their brilliant autumn red. Can you see Caleb hidden in this foliage?<br />
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It fascinates me how trees grow right out of sandstone rock here!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NZmb9xFY4lwdHhJgQK3wiMIQKfUtoH2xOj4MLL0bXNy2NkIv5m-D3J56qEcYNPPj9Y1sIIbkk5NCReotStNvMU-PWznfOejvqbb3tsoTGbuSJ0xUHjO5kSIWpVzzlQzO1iL-JsCXOPw/s1600/DSC_0404.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NZmb9xFY4lwdHhJgQK3wiMIQKfUtoH2xOj4MLL0bXNy2NkIv5m-D3J56qEcYNPPj9Y1sIIbkk5NCReotStNvMU-PWznfOejvqbb3tsoTGbuSJ0xUHjO5kSIWpVzzlQzO1iL-JsCXOPw/s320/DSC_0404.JPG" /></a> </div>
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Marcus carving "Marcus & Rachel" into a heart-shaped rock he found. So sweet :)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpZ23_13I7Muia8-cDpYLAl0yTowREjZcx3gECPgkoubiFiB9ykgTiMrUnYvTImjGVRMBc2xqkNpmFxk2KhfmxnIFyKlWQMVgSZyJZ9yCxREd404DmBZMllm4CJDPygihNCq1TlEgzWo/s1600/DSC_0409.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpZ23_13I7Muia8-cDpYLAl0yTowREjZcx3gECPgkoubiFiB9ykgTiMrUnYvTImjGVRMBc2xqkNpmFxk2KhfmxnIFyKlWQMVgSZyJZ9yCxREd404DmBZMllm4CJDPygihNCq1TlEgzWo/s320/DSC_0409.JPG" /></a> </div>
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Look! A space ship landed on that rock!<br />
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One of several small canyons we stumbled across.<br />
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The last morning we were in Zion, my parents kept our kids so Marcus and I could go on a trail ride. My favorite part was crossing the river on horseback. I felt like a frontier settler!<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Here are all the cousins on the Campbell side: Bennett & Jasper Campbell, Lydia, Ethan & Caleb Wagner. They are dressed in Christmas pajamas because the kids won't all be together at Christmas and I knew my Mom would love to have this picture :)</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQ9NNJbD1uIIpYciVB0KgtRwUEd4Oj9MIIxXyCjM1hmVFlgERBbw1Nla-gNMYlrmsONCy5a8KP1S9KrxOcAcUOiPE5Gb8Hp4N3M5gjrgR_Kc1t69onuoG1Gwj_JKitQnYe1M2vErl_PM/s1600/DSC_0365.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQ9NNJbD1uIIpYciVB0KgtRwUEd4Oj9MIIxXyCjM1hmVFlgERBbw1Nla-gNMYlrmsONCy5a8KP1S9KrxOcAcUOiPE5Gb8Hp4N3M5gjrgR_Kc1t69onuoG1Gwj_JKitQnYe1M2vErl_PM/s320/DSC_0365.JPG" /></a></div>
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-33234721499499960892012-08-29T21:43:00.002-04:002012-08-29T21:46:38.402-04:00Ethan's ER Trip & Preschool BeginsTwo weeks ago, Ethan stuck his finger all the way into a soda can and got it stuck. In his panic to get it out, he sliced the base of his finger pretty deeply and had to get 3-4 stitches. As if that were not traumatic enough, we get to the ER, follow all the signs towards the Children's ER, and end up in a drive-through with no adjacent parking. An attendant comes out and offers me directions to a nearby parking garage. I've got a bleeding 4-year-old in the backseat, and this girl is giving me directions to a parking garage a couple of blocks away! I was MAD. And boy did I miss my Children's ER in Birmingham, which has free valet parking. But, having no choice, I drove to the parking garage, put Ethan in the stroller and pushed him while carrying a very angry Lydia. And that umbrella stroller I was using was NOT made for one-handed pushing. But, regardless, we made it to check-in, and were promptly taken back to a room where we waited for almost 3 hours for the cryptic and dismissive pediatrician to stitch him up. It was not a great day. In fact, I'm getting a little mad again just thinking about it all, so I should probably change subjects...<br />
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Ethan's been in school for over a week now, and he absolutely loves it! He is going to a non-traditional preschool that employs a lot of real-life objects in lieu of toys, and uses a very child-centered educational approach, encouraging the kids to follow their curiosity towards learning. He's doing so extremely well here that I really wish the school went past preschool into early elementary. Up to now, Ethan has always gotten into trouble for stirring up angst in a group setting, but this new environment has kept him so engaged that we have heard nothing but positive reports so far. I realize he's only been to school for six days, but, still, he's been there for six days with no problems! And he loves going! He runs to put his shoes on and get his bag when I tell him its time to go to school. He had to miss one day last week for allergy testing, and he was distraught. I couldn't console him with the promise of any other place in town: the Discover Center, the Aquarium, Chuck E. Cheese, the mall...none of his favorite places could compete with his "super-cool" new school.<br />
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Well, I wanted to write some about Ethan's health problems as well, but I think I'll save that for another day. It's late and this Mommy is tired. Until next time!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/haleym82/5870274883/" title="rachelsignature by HaleyM82, on Flickr"><img alt="rachelsignature" height="70" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3256/5870274883_73eb3348aa_m.jpg" width="170" /></a>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-33455181693676371102012-08-23T13:40:00.000-04:002012-08-23T13:40:06.901-04:00New BeginningsSo I think the hardest part about a blog hiatus is figuring out where to begin when you get started again. I think I have lost more than month of blogging because the idea of covering our family news for the past six months is too daunting. So I guess I will just jump in and begin with what's going on right now.<br />
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Two weeks ago, Caleb started first grade at his new school here in Tennessee. Thanks to the fact that I had failed to sync my iPhone calendar with my computer calendar for months, I got mixed up and thought that his first day of school was Wednesday. Didn't realize until we were about half-a-mile from the school that I had the wrong day. After the initial, "I can't believe I did that!" I was super-thankful to have a chance to do-over the first day of school. I had overslept, failed to wake up Caleb early enough, served a rushed breakfast of cereal, discovered that one of Caleb's only pair of tennis shoes (a dress-code requirement) had been left in Alabama, and completely forgotten to take pictures. So, on the fake first day of school, we went to the mall to buy new tennis shoes and enjoyed a <i>second </i>last-day-of-summer :) The real first day of school went perfectly, complete with hot breakfast, new shoes, and lots of pictures. <br />
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Caleb loves his new school, and seems to have adjusted very well by all accounts. He loves going every day, and though it seems that he is gone from me for so long (7 hours!), he is enjoying himself thoroughly. He is full of reports of all the things he's learning, and his interest in reading and his fluency has taken another great leap forward. I sometimes find him in his room, just reading to himself. The first Sunday after school started, he and I had this conversation:<br />
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Me: Caleb, you need to go take a shower. You have school tomorrow and I let you skip it yesterday, but you have to take one today.<br />
Caleb: You let me skip school!? (face crumpling into tears) I didn't want to skip a day of school! I didn't know there was school yesterday!!!<br />
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I quickly explained that it was the shower I'd let him skip, not school, but I was surprised at how upset he was!<br />
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Ethan started school at his preschool earlier this week. His first three days have been successful, and he is excited to go each morning. Caleb has the temperament to enjoy school, but Ethan does not as much, so I'm hoping and praying that this preschool will hold his interest in the weeks and months to come. It is not a typical preschool, and I think it has the best chance of any preschool I've seen of keeping Ethan's voracious mind stimulated and his busy hands doing productive work.<br />
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We've been in Tennessee for two months now, and I still feel very new to everything. I've found a pediatrician, a Publix, a couple of parks, the library, and, oh yeah, the Children's ER (story coming soon), but I still don't feel at home yet. I miss Birmingham even more than I realized I would. It will be easier when we find the right church home. Even visiting churches has not been easy, since we started our time here with Marcus studying for boards 24/7 for two weeks, and his work schedule continued to be strenuous for the month after boards. Things are settling down now for him at work, and hopefully soon we will have a church home. I absolutely love the house we are renting here. It is in a beautiful neighborhood and is more space than we need, but not more than we can enjoy! We've been out of boxes for about a month now, and, even if Chattanooga doesn't feel like home yet, our house does and I couldn't be happier with it.<br />
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I'm trying to get back in the habit of blogging weekly, but life is crazy, so don't hold me to it :) God bless!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/haleym82/5870274883/" title="rachelsignature by HaleyM82, on Flickr"><img alt="rachelsignature" height="70" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3256/5870274883_73eb3348aa_m.jpg" width="170" /></a>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-74501352658651471642012-04-30T16:32:00.000-04:002012-04-30T20:06:36.276-04:00That Time of Year AgainAll the kids turned a year older in the last month, so, in a futile effort to freeze time, we had our pictures taken again. As far as futile efforts go, these aren't half bad: <a href="http://www.heatherswannerphotography.com/wagner" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">www.heatherswannerphotography.com/wagner</a>.<br />
<br />Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-61973355210569926072012-01-23T07:00:00.004-05:002012-01-25T08:59:46.562-05:00New Job & Girls' WeekendMarcus is nearing the end of nine years of post-graduate medical training. This coming summer, on June 30th, he will complete his residency in radiation oncology. This past summer and fall, Marcus spent a good amount of time researching job opportunities and interviewed for several positions. From the very first interview in June of 2011, one oncology group stood out among the others. He called me just hours after that interview and I could hear the big smile in his voice when he said, "Well, Rach, it looks like we are moving to ___________." He had nothing but good to say about the group, his potential co-workers, and the town. Through the rest of the summer and fall, he continued to explore positions here in Birmingham and in his hometown of Melbourne, but no matter how hard he tried to "make them work," he just kept coming back to this job. Though I love our lives here in Birmingham, and I will miss our friends and church here tremendously, I knew Marcus needed to go for the job that he felt so drawn to. <br />
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</div><div>So (drum roll time), in about six months, we will be opening a new chapter of our lives in Chattanooga, TN!!! Marcus signed his contract just a couple of weeks before Christmas, and we have been busy getting this house ready to sell, as well as doing some looking around for a new place in Chattanooga. In fact, Marcus gave me the most wonderful gift of a couple of days house-shopping with my BFF in Chattanooga. We drove up on Saturday morning, looked at about five houses, ate dinner at the hopping Blue Water Grill, hung out in our hotel's hot tub, and then talked until we fell asleep! Sunday morning, we visited Clear Creek Church together and spent a couple more hours driving around and exploring the northern Chattanooga area. Q discovered this great little neighborhood that I love. I have a feeling we are going to end up living in one of those houses :) We met up with our realtor one more time to look inside a few more houses, and then headed back to Birmingham to resume our lives as wives and mothers. This was the first night that I have spent away from my kids in 2.5 years, and I was <i>ready </i>for it! Thanks, honey, for a perfect gift!</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-7250479207886952892012-01-20T07:00:00.005-05:002012-01-31T08:07:26.586-05:00A Season of SicknessThis has been a rough month for Ethan & Lydia, healthwise, and therefore it's been a hard month for me as well. (Caleb has cruised through it all unscathed, like he usually does, though he did lose his second tooth in his sleep last Friday night!)<br />
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</div><div>It seems like we've been to the pediatrician every week for more than a month! Ethan has had bronchitis, pink eye and two ear infections, in addition to the general yuckiness of congestion. On top of that, it took several weeks for the fluid to drain off his ears after his ear infection cleared up, so he was having a lot of trouble hearing for several weeks. Ethan can be challenging enough when he is fully-functioning, but non-hearing Ethan has really reset the bar. At school this past Monday, he threw a toy that collided with another boys' head and split the little boy's head open! He didn't mean for that to happen, but it's just a result of him losing his temper.<br />
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After I got that delightful report, I piled all the kids back in the van and headed straight back to the pediatrician. I'd been told 3 weeks in a row that we just needed to wait for the fluid to drain and then he would be able to hear again, but I needed something better than that. After waiting in the little room with all three of my tired and hungry children for NINETY MINUTES, the doctor finally came in. This week's diagnosis for Ethan was: yes, he has a lot of fluid on his ears, no he still can't hear very well, but, yes, we will try something else other than waiting now. The doctor put him on another round of antibiotics and steroids, as well as setting us up for an ENT consult to see about getting tubes again. I was very happy to have some answers, and even happier when, the next day, Ethan could finally hear normally again. He has been a happy, cooperative little boy for the past two days. (Now all I need to do is get him to write his apology note to his classmate, and make my own phone call of apology as well.)<br />
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During this same pediatrician visit, Lydia was diagnosed with another double ear infection, her second in 2 weeks. (The only reason we're sure this one is a new infection is because we were in the previous Monday and her ears were pronounced clear.) This is her 3rd ear infection in 3 months, so she may end up being a candidate for tubes as well. I'm not as resistant to the idea as I was with Ethan, since they worked so well for him and it was so much better than having him on antibiotics every couple of weeks. <br />
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Lydia has also been dealing with a major eczema outbreak. Just like the fluid in Ethan's ears, I kept showing the excema to the pediatrician whenever we were in (which was frequently), and I was told to use hypo-allergenic lotion twice a day. I did that, but over a period of a couple of months, it has continued to get worse. It finally got bad enough that the pediatrician prescribed Alclometasone Dipropionate Cream, which cleared all of it right up in just a few days. One day, her back, bottom, elbows & thighs were covered in raw, patchy skin. The next, it was smooth again and you could just see the outline of the eczema.<br />
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So, at the moment, Lydia and Ethan are ear-infection, virus & eczema free, and Caleb is healthy. But it has been a ride!</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-13990967405272797632012-01-19T07:00:00.001-05:002012-01-25T09:56:40.464-05:00Magic Kingdom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the best parts of our week in Florida at Christmas time was getting to go to Disney as a family for the first time. Marcus & Mike have taken Caleb & Chase a couple of times before, but I had never been with any of the kids and Ethan & Lydia haven't been at all. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the coolest parts is that the whole day was completely free (except food) for the five of us! My parents had four park hopper passes from back in 1988 when our whole family went to Disney for a week, and we only used 3 of the 4 days on the pass. Mom kept those tickets in an envelope for 23 years, and they got our whole family into the Magic Kingdom for a day. I don't know the exact cost, but I'm pretty sure that saved us more than $400 in admission. Thanks so much, Mom & Dad! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another really cool thing about this trip to Disney is that Marcus used an iPhone app to help us pick which rides to do next (it gave us up-to-date wait times on all the rides). Because of this, even though it was December 26th and a very crowded day at Disney, Marcus said that we were able to ride more rides in one day than he ever had before. And I thought it was really cool that we had such a smooth, enjoyable day, despite the crowds and the fact that our own group numbered 13, with more children than adults. Everyone agreed the day was a huge success, and we look forward to doing it again soon!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> First glimpse of the Disney Castle from the ferry.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfEz4GdcwVLyPTMqoCpwh6ZFTOun-aJo59jFst8b7bz-b_eCNVbY74QkktgM3Qe62u3za3YXlhlrdmuz_WzDjiXWI4ja-vZD3UdVeGVmiN728RmSHkO6m1iHF5kSyEocz57fM4MfcRwk/s1600/DSC_1419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfEz4GdcwVLyPTMqoCpwh6ZFTOun-aJo59jFst8b7bz-b_eCNVbY74QkktgM3Qe62u3za3YXlhlrdmuz_WzDjiXWI4ja-vZD3UdVeGVmiN728RmSHkO6m1iHF5kSyEocz57fM4MfcRwk/s400/DSC_1419.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMe5S5S1jRyQ4oyrH5dFEKuZCZiZ891kKooZpORLi324EiHZOhConOtZxVr9FMm2P-KHMtvkCDI5nLee1bj6nicD9GiONfF-Dk_Bykh9r9d5jCG4U_ul2ylN7icAmUyTetFWX1t0dxfI/s1600/DSC_1429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMe5S5S1jRyQ4oyrH5dFEKuZCZiZ891kKooZpORLi324EiHZOhConOtZxVr9FMm2P-KHMtvkCDI5nLee1bj6nicD9GiONfF-Dk_Bykh9r9d5jCG4U_ul2ylN7icAmUyTetFWX1t0dxfI/s400/DSC_1429.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzZ9dBBh136F2Qvg3zmfE7RKAbtIZdUnrdhCNpFJXTJkjwKFaMBlOJiTO0jY4PPmu3j8J6gS6In73ExJEH-bRXvkJ8wpQN6nnbVv2Qw9xUdrZFtXTr8FcGCdRjYOZAAWD-NvYhtxlCTM/s1600/DSC_1432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzZ9dBBh136F2Qvg3zmfE7RKAbtIZdUnrdhCNpFJXTJkjwKFaMBlOJiTO0jY4PPmu3j8J6gS6In73ExJEH-bRXvkJ8wpQN6nnbVv2Qw9xUdrZFtXTr8FcGCdRjYOZAAWD-NvYhtxlCTM/s400/DSC_1432.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBhuWCjCAKgkAmWe401Od_PCUw0TtMYeQa2x0EqzfZacJ7lf8SKm30JC-VGYaodNT_KLkZ1UQSwmk_hzTUKGIuzZsJiDxcDZNOuPol6e_G1Lb9LtCxM6x8OmiTrYwSjfSyoeJfqTJb-g/s1600/DSC_1437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBhuWCjCAKgkAmWe401Od_PCUw0TtMYeQa2x0EqzfZacJ7lf8SKm30JC-VGYaodNT_KLkZ1UQSwmk_hzTUKGIuzZsJiDxcDZNOuPol6e_G1Lb9LtCxM6x8OmiTrYwSjfSyoeJfqTJb-g/s400/DSC_1437.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Marcus was laughing at how intent I looked on this Buzz Lightyear Shoot-em-up Ride</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0BlZI09OZ2W7_UftyG_twGtlxHn04IOrHZCqVp7wvwWuFXC_HXorW_XYf2JVTDnim0mmIkPfst2XaHZ-nzadTjKLjvd_eH4WqkYwPSVv3436LA8BXl5E7R1Zen2kW0H-Ca3u3kh8URg/s1600/DSC_1440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0BlZI09OZ2W7_UftyG_twGtlxHn04IOrHZCqVp7wvwWuFXC_HXorW_XYf2JVTDnim0mmIkPfst2XaHZ-nzadTjKLjvd_eH4WqkYwPSVv3436LA8BXl5E7R1Zen2kW0H-Ca3u3kh8URg/s400/DSC_1440.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Mimi kindly lent us her double-stroller for the day, and it turned out to be very useful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTi2jynvcoMyYk8M6XtOf6vmEUz1e-2_4J3gYM-8gLjjQ3MGNu_QKFMcivKkc1QND2IMPltCMchu19HN2LnhBwwTs7xhuSAkU27P6dRfT4WYwrCaSxG8QCAM3mZeF-yrepLaBPL3DhkM/s1600/DSC_1441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTi2jynvcoMyYk8M6XtOf6vmEUz1e-2_4J3gYM-8gLjjQ3MGNu_QKFMcivKkc1QND2IMPltCMchu19HN2LnhBwwTs7xhuSAkU27P6dRfT4WYwrCaSxG8QCAM3mZeF-yrepLaBPL3DhkM/s320/DSC_1441.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Lydia enjoying the tunnel on Tom Sawyer island (one of the only times she got the get out of the stroller the whole day!)</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLhRNNlQOpKf9kUizqGa8TOMaabdNaPUQElXCAK-FUC7bsXIQeYbrqW8FktCDlOXFriSbeokmv1rTyWMU86eWFDoEQIYZhcXie6n4rdhJlTyLKfsf-AUBpMCKC1Euc24x3d2rSTIkWkU/s1600/DSC_1462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLhRNNlQOpKf9kUizqGa8TOMaabdNaPUQElXCAK-FUC7bsXIQeYbrqW8FktCDlOXFriSbeokmv1rTyWMU86eWFDoEQIYZhcXie6n4rdhJlTyLKfsf-AUBpMCKC1Euc24x3d2rSTIkWkU/s400/DSC_1462.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> Ethan & Daddy love :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDY9xz6HPGiF7xMFUrgp9bVn14Z71795s16ibkDJhfDKaLfZik5xidQQHU1SwrQzzGwwXLXxxpBXc1EufFnfOIgQZ2M-k8L8EhlMMPYuWTUVSiTEI-Azg_7JyumUpUv3VesMYHIhu-cdQ/s1600/DSC_1445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDY9xz6HPGiF7xMFUrgp9bVn14Z71795s16ibkDJhfDKaLfZik5xidQQHU1SwrQzzGwwXLXxxpBXc1EufFnfOIgQZ2M-k8L8EhlMMPYuWTUVSiTEI-Azg_7JyumUpUv3VesMYHIhu-cdQ/s400/DSC_1445.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy574nIkgikrER_chj5s0yS_8Lv9uvsVgjcsIze_xW1q3BZz8289yvB2mWpWlhYIILF2hNnH1Oi4fMZTXZ9iK-K2xzGAG_M5bRWuOcohLO83etDr96gCdsgFuGz6dRPWoAYsyA20D2qfk/s1600/DSC_1447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy574nIkgikrER_chj5s0yS_8Lv9uvsVgjcsIze_xW1q3BZz8289yvB2mWpWlhYIILF2hNnH1Oi4fMZTXZ9iK-K2xzGAG_M5bRWuOcohLO83etDr96gCdsgFuGz6dRPWoAYsyA20D2qfk/s400/DSC_1447.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Mimi and her newest grandbabies, Lydia & Dallen</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfrHu6ETy5WTumJjOyr5FJl0mMiAlZ8ss3S2D9LanBYLy8diuoil-ptiP7Gu9dTmyAEKUDGmDHWL3Yj5524KSNccgXraz8rvH3muY_gsfbIAS1uliKfQSzx6mGMHdjlVUHMFjVkVZa_c/s1600/DSC_1452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfrHu6ETy5WTumJjOyr5FJl0mMiAlZ8ss3S2D9LanBYLy8diuoil-ptiP7Gu9dTmyAEKUDGmDHWL3Yj5524KSNccgXraz8rvH3muY_gsfbIAS1uliKfQSzx6mGMHdjlVUHMFjVkVZa_c/s400/DSC_1452.JPG" width="323" /></a></div> The whole Wagner clan, except Gigi, Wendi & Joel was able to be there. We missed you three!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDwwREkP3hh8qPzPnm0j-cmh5g5nnLO_OfmdmKYdNb8DXG1uogqzklR33DadjOVHwCd0214nU9vB9uKPmaABYVObycngJUd0sn06CGMoRMdijzFTUcHNRRj779aQDzg09RBOWqiMu57Y/s1600/DSC_1458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDwwREkP3hh8qPzPnm0j-cmh5g5nnLO_OfmdmKYdNb8DXG1uogqzklR33DadjOVHwCd0214nU9vB9uKPmaABYVObycngJUd0sn06CGMoRMdijzFTUcHNRRj779aQDzg09RBOWqiMu57Y/s400/DSC_1458.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-30727837263847414602012-01-18T14:50:00.003-05:002012-01-19T06:54:16.940-05:00Enjoying Melbourne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We packed a lot into our 5 1/2 days in town, including a day at Disney (another post coming), a morning at the Zoo, an afternoon at Gemini park, and plenty of time hanging out at Mike & Gigi's house and at Mimi's house. The weather was beautiful all week and we spent enough time outside to satisfy even me :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Hx0hUc1e6eBffBz_dbnhw9FVczgKcXXPCb1Ktf6aHxG3RWl43Z21KmoqADV1SwMqSb7yxN0eX8-PSRNkQ2sIoqUJ25Y7e9l_wwEBJm-gNQnHp_jJLWjngcHU8XV-9ZI5JUN6d-AToGg/s1600/IMG_3807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Hx0hUc1e6eBffBz_dbnhw9FVczgKcXXPCb1Ktf6aHxG3RWl43Z21KmoqADV1SwMqSb7yxN0eX8-PSRNkQ2sIoqUJ25Y7e9l_wwEBJm-gNQnHp_jJLWjngcHU8XV-9ZI5JUN6d-AToGg/s400/IMG_3807.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> Lydia & Ethan hanging out with Uncle Mike. Lydia wasn't too sure about Uncle Mike at first, but it didn't take him more than a couple of days to charm her.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3qxaYQyYBjJlVOJFcSG4Z8x1RJw6kkW5R8qvwBG5PoXmwIdA3zCxPUlC3AmuVIxRy0I9MUwJurp-Mz9ugEJHr-eX89X5FvyJ0sJGcM2OKI2Z-Q2EZyjW9npeSjXwLLPjT-EbrS4upYUY/s1600/DSC_1483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3qxaYQyYBjJlVOJFcSG4Z8x1RJw6kkW5R8qvwBG5PoXmwIdA3zCxPUlC3AmuVIxRy0I9MUwJurp-Mz9ugEJHr-eX89X5FvyJ0sJGcM2OKI2Z-Q2EZyjW9npeSjXwLLPjT-EbrS4upYUY/s400/DSC_1483.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWMDdjt6bF7lGh5BS3Q1iTDo9DWYIZTHISZizsDAYZJ5Ednl2eMabwSfllE7erUvAIHEvul_VuS54-luPye6CM4HRmtHCdfvCogaJXJWcsENuk4RNnkWJ5O_WIheMBvdTpVOrKYEk4ro/s1600/DSC_1486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWMDdjt6bF7lGh5BS3Q1iTDo9DWYIZTHISZizsDAYZJ5Ednl2eMabwSfllE7erUvAIHEvul_VuS54-luPye6CM4HRmtHCdfvCogaJXJWcsENuk4RNnkWJ5O_WIheMBvdTpVOrKYEk4ro/s400/DSC_1486.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Lydia hanging out with her Mimi :) Mimi was kind enough to pull babysitting duties two of the nights that we were in town so that the adults could enjoy some hanging out time. Thanks, Mimi!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7cUlcFePMT_0DAT12jJjRSYK8FPu2VS8UGbZQIFFEdxfeHEaZLz2YC3oaUQpXYDITIoU4ZAO0Z2569KQ3t6XIJEvHsUUBqCcpZgg8vIFodzc-WZjRsZ5vwZEmxLN4y4sLk2NrLY9vjMc/s1600/DSC_1487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7cUlcFePMT_0DAT12jJjRSYK8FPu2VS8UGbZQIFFEdxfeHEaZLz2YC3oaUQpXYDITIoU4ZAO0Z2569KQ3t6XIJEvHsUUBqCcpZgg8vIFodzc-WZjRsZ5vwZEmxLN4y4sLk2NrLY9vjMc/s400/DSC_1487.JPG" width="267" /></a></div> We spent Thursday afternoon at the park by Gemini Elementary (where Chase goes to school). We brought the bikes and Chase & Kylie's new wheeled-toys (a Razor and a skateboard). Marcus and Mike came up with the idea to let the kids lie belly-down on the skate board and push them back and forth across the empty parking lot. I kept Lydia out of the way :). The kids and the men had a blast, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDFr3AhdGVwt0rfuKcURlFfIfbJw6hlI4B4JbBJ3UHSR7L8-pQdsE_DaioPuhgmt9P725BrNFyt_U3FNlvoy5c6oDnXFuA9-A2z4ZJxjFWfl0bVFazhXHN_rGe6KZtkOm_4UqOMNguBw/s1600/DSC_1499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDFr3AhdGVwt0rfuKcURlFfIfbJw6hlI4B4JbBJ3UHSR7L8-pQdsE_DaioPuhgmt9P725BrNFyt_U3FNlvoy5c6oDnXFuA9-A2z4ZJxjFWfl0bVFazhXHN_rGe6KZtkOm_4UqOMNguBw/s400/DSC_1499.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKAwqnDpjKD9-Dv2_2zqXBmjDQZ-BC1pkfJFOsM6Cbv6wEXl0D4kNHDL3x86MC613hYmbR-xlQse_1kpfmh4M72tKvowja8Lhte6wbrYeic2S3B9txuasZQtjsr_jUHuZCsHhfEFpZDo/s1600/DSC_1502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKAwqnDpjKD9-Dv2_2zqXBmjDQZ-BC1pkfJFOsM6Cbv6wEXl0D4kNHDL3x86MC613hYmbR-xlQse_1kpfmh4M72tKvowja8Lhte6wbrYeic2S3B9txuasZQtjsr_jUHuZCsHhfEFpZDo/s400/DSC_1502.JPG" width="267" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUqDxJaZhOBF7SN88C9JHFjcGUXtBihq-9K_2J2IFUr7qmmEOA1k3tUb9hQpuISQv_zQCC97mJ6R-UFFoMFum6ZlctQOjRxzuHFIMI6X7Rgwm8golzLORPGpos3SVkHmAa7hTvIGK6vY/s1600/DSC_1512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUqDxJaZhOBF7SN88C9JHFjcGUXtBihq-9K_2J2IFUr7qmmEOA1k3tUb9hQpuISQv_zQCC97mJ6R-UFFoMFum6ZlctQOjRxzuHFIMI6X7Rgwm8golzLORPGpos3SVkHmAa7hTvIGK6vY/s400/DSC_1512.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFH33-aRv6lp9wbUHyN6TO9qoobsJ2FB0NCyhli52qZJxw9Sm_qN_-7Qekbn1reU3B3Jq7oSd4-dJPWf0uoeFSrghebDvXvNNFL6aqnMYA00KSlJsPXTWYGy_rcT5MJAMtFnDtXx_rdZI/s1600/DSC_1517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFH33-aRv6lp9wbUHyN6TO9qoobsJ2FB0NCyhli52qZJxw9Sm_qN_-7Qekbn1reU3B3Jq7oSd4-dJPWf0uoeFSrghebDvXvNNFL6aqnMYA00KSlJsPXTWYGy_rcT5MJAMtFnDtXx_rdZI/s400/DSC_1517.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-81063972183479383532012-01-18T14:50:00.000-05:002012-01-18T14:30:53.171-05:00Group Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">It wouldn't be much of a traditional Wagner gathering without multiple group pictures. This gets harder and harder to accomplish the more kids we add to the mix, but here's a few of the better ones:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvqrT9lmebg9GNE5jEWDtBl3czIC43gWcG6pcpBzE-shoWNK5JbBlfoZKJq8yKBlOKQB5dXxnqeBsaDffZH6-EB2sC8ezmaKi5XafO5JwBPRNNsCSICb1B4EQTDGzrtIISVBxb1FGiDw/s1600/DSC_1471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvqrT9lmebg9GNE5jEWDtBl3czIC43gWcG6pcpBzE-shoWNK5JbBlfoZKJq8yKBlOKQB5dXxnqeBsaDffZH6-EB2sC8ezmaKi5XafO5JwBPRNNsCSICb1B4EQTDGzrtIISVBxb1FGiDw/s400/DSC_1471.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-E76aIgNTW4zB2aV2hGSlsttbavLAOOofnUWkKpZzaomrCLCkI8vz-rIPds6So6eGhEVo_bV2KshVOhXRy_1LT5ykbsr9QvQErJbOPPCbCs3jJUW5awFE2q3NPMoY6EUqYBezEt2d51E/s1600/DSC_1473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-E76aIgNTW4zB2aV2hGSlsttbavLAOOofnUWkKpZzaomrCLCkI8vz-rIPds6So6eGhEVo_bV2KshVOhXRy_1LT5ykbsr9QvQErJbOPPCbCs3jJUW5awFE2q3NPMoY6EUqYBezEt2d51E/s400/DSC_1473.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The grandkids in matching pajamas, one of our Christmas gifts to Mimi :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIXxU8Ub4-iPQ1TrvkvuD_u4OXSAH3RWPfvBRGuDIY_CmofE68f7NUORKGUpO4MB_Qq2BnKyTaUSTd6NgMoL926f_ILmsUbMEaWaQ5s4ndXJVKQhVY1V-CKGsm2h-kaRtkphcL28TT58/s1600/DSC_1401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIXxU8Ub4-iPQ1TrvkvuD_u4OXSAH3RWPfvBRGuDIY_CmofE68f7NUORKGUpO4MB_Qq2BnKyTaUSTd6NgMoL926f_ILmsUbMEaWaQ5s4ndXJVKQhVY1V-CKGsm2h-kaRtkphcL28TT58/s400/DSC_1401.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2T3RRVw3DM3ttgdVtJfRpsN9NzqdVXuT9EsuYjDzG9sdfzgCJCo_ZnhiChP1YVfnNvMLmDRqu-jHfzpn-K7dEIz4vH6ywtdH3oaXto6-RrLNvkXoF9PmMV45m1z9wq4UD99ehcAwLdIg/s1600/IMG_3731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2T3RRVw3DM3ttgdVtJfRpsN9NzqdVXuT9EsuYjDzG9sdfzgCJCo_ZnhiChP1YVfnNvMLmDRqu-jHfzpn-K7dEIz4vH6ywtdH3oaXto6-RrLNvkXoF9PmMV45m1z9wq4UD99ehcAwLdIg/s400/IMG_3731.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHiyCMSXGiEJnCz26MwV_qt88mPViXco9FnvG6zbJ70EXWBlY-l1PiK_HBYI5DY8_eimSMCifwN4EvqhOnlmdH7X-XXu0c5evj7fxonepwKWzD-q5ZeZMOx_GTsf-tnae20UOoqv09VI/s1600/IMG_3732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHiyCMSXGiEJnCz26MwV_qt88mPViXco9FnvG6zbJ70EXWBlY-l1PiK_HBYI5DY8_eimSMCifwN4EvqhOnlmdH7X-XXu0c5evj7fxonepwKWzD-q5ZeZMOx_GTsf-tnae20UOoqv09VI/s400/IMG_3732.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-13595874963303892572012-01-18T14:30:00.000-05:002012-01-18T14:31:12.352-05:00Present Time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We opened presents at Mike & Gigi's house on the afternoon of Christmas Day. We had agreed that this year, the kids would be getting a day at The Magic Kingdom for Christmas, so we did not exchange gifts across families for the kids. Each kid had a couple of presents to open from their parents and then the gifts from Mimi, as well. Lydia loved the wrapping paper, and the boys were happy with and thankful for their gifts. The adults had drawn names, and it was funny to see quite a few wall canvas prints appear for several different people. I guess everyone had canvas on the brain this year. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWb4IjLPQEuazdizyDgVTFTbmjFJhi3K8lRY3xEKxVMKVoaYcnEed_TNBRP0K1StPNLK38z-MEuAW7hSN3LamB9nSaYTgeWgS_MqviIn6vztvWNgocBasUgU8X6IqhF-b_RzsBzt9bP2c/s1600/DSC_1381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWb4IjLPQEuazdizyDgVTFTbmjFJhi3K8lRY3xEKxVMKVoaYcnEed_TNBRP0K1StPNLK38z-MEuAW7hSN3LamB9nSaYTgeWgS_MqviIn6vztvWNgocBasUgU8X6IqhF-b_RzsBzt9bP2c/s400/DSC_1381.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_vcFVIVgqXm2aeL6MBJU8HgOStbRvGqV2zxquEn8RHNTlRKMe_S_qwCYE_AAlV3td4ly2eSp2J8m5wrv2OKKVUkSKYI7EKKOc0N717kB8P7FeaLF9rK-U9AirP3zmBqrhyphenhyphenMFp7zzCe0/s1600/DSC_1383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_vcFVIVgqXm2aeL6MBJU8HgOStbRvGqV2zxquEn8RHNTlRKMe_S_qwCYE_AAlV3td4ly2eSp2J8m5wrv2OKKVUkSKYI7EKKOc0N717kB8P7FeaLF9rK-U9AirP3zmBqrhyphenhyphenMFp7zzCe0/s400/DSC_1383.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qOZhVU_gtIzKsqScLb6oAtCpO7zwv_zWDy2QnYV3lRek6_I2vdNfk-Zpln9Vlqs-OFEhzo3M3hzVp4lco1MsYqmLQqI9kTnryOICrOl7w41Y-h7K-SjVBKWaXQ-q4wUCMEFOyH6_oJI/s1600/DSC_1386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qOZhVU_gtIzKsqScLb6oAtCpO7zwv_zWDy2QnYV3lRek6_I2vdNfk-Zpln9Vlqs-OFEhzo3M3hzVp4lco1MsYqmLQqI9kTnryOICrOl7w41Y-h7K-SjVBKWaXQ-q4wUCMEFOyH6_oJI/s400/DSC_1386.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqz7id-hVkh0Lrs9qYR0wzvDn61ESMdKOF3uxTJugrEUZsDaag_49leEpJK_k44ffVEqNHkplxldqx4Ye7maQZ2LGxjoZd5GgQdQuQ1pTsPiESgXWg264ctNoMbRyjLEFnx1XomckRN_M/s1600/DSC_1387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqz7id-hVkh0Lrs9qYR0wzvDn61ESMdKOF3uxTJugrEUZsDaag_49leEpJK_k44ffVEqNHkplxldqx4Ye7maQZ2LGxjoZd5GgQdQuQ1pTsPiESgXWg264ctNoMbRyjLEFnx1XomckRN_M/s400/DSC_1387.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSnuzxYiRz8eLn5Zd4ZUxX6FPBGugnD-Kmu7YVdscQckDwsn-KOMBoMve6fMfvdjhUfEB8BbcUck1PYSS18r3Mb_rxH0JCpxxstnFNjcLuKKosDOsUpP_DMnrQCX6JvSD_xNaqL1GZqI/s1600/DSC_1390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSnuzxYiRz8eLn5Zd4ZUxX6FPBGugnD-Kmu7YVdscQckDwsn-KOMBoMve6fMfvdjhUfEB8BbcUck1PYSS18r3Mb_rxH0JCpxxstnFNjcLuKKosDOsUpP_DMnrQCX6JvSD_xNaqL1GZqI/s400/DSC_1390.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGu_qt6-GdhSdyVidiNBuSJPmvR8wZrHmELgbWYSdgiX0QL_MBKeb_JnvKqnONd0LTRXDlpjrSASrYmGHULiojIK7rR1eHqlw0huuFuJB8kIzjXghCvuG-lIn9bqnsRbc0XiFnXiUO-P4/s1600/DSC_1391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGu_qt6-GdhSdyVidiNBuSJPmvR8wZrHmELgbWYSdgiX0QL_MBKeb_JnvKqnONd0LTRXDlpjrSASrYmGHULiojIK7rR1eHqlw0huuFuJB8kIzjXghCvuG-lIn9bqnsRbc0XiFnXiUO-P4/s400/DSC_1391.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3u8Beb3cuMXt6O9c5QAjqAAFILQj0ik9aeIoLlRgWiwaNe9pRQZDXnk5BHwrdU6IsH3ULolQZeQ6ev1hN2aTq36xMm83WNP8va6Sjdxo29iY_rNh2Z2DXqrL_IjSGKBljdnJI5u_b2lw/s1600/DSC_1397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3u8Beb3cuMXt6O9c5QAjqAAFILQj0ik9aeIoLlRgWiwaNe9pRQZDXnk5BHwrdU6IsH3ULolQZeQ6ev1hN2aTq36xMm83WNP8va6Sjdxo29iY_rNh2Z2DXqrL_IjSGKBljdnJI5u_b2lw/s400/DSC_1397.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-50968776000601518832012-01-18T14:13:00.004-05:002012-01-18T14:21:29.809-05:00Christmas Eve & Christmas Morning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We arrived in town at dinner time on Christmas Eve. Aunt Gigi's mother had prepared a huge Christmas meal for all of the Wagner's, and we all thoroughly enjoyed her feast. After dinner, we heard from Uncle Mike that Santa Claus was scheduled to make a drive-by appearance in a fire truck, something he described as a perk of living in Melbourne Beach. We all headed outside at the appointed time to see this exciting spectacle. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To our surprise, Santa not only drove by, but stopped and got out of the fire truck, right on the corner of Uncle Mike's property. And, to our complete amazement, he took a present out of his bag and said, "Is there a little boy named Caleb, here?" At first, I was thinking that there must be some other Caleb in the group of neighbors gathered there, and that my Caleb was going to be so disappointed. But I should have had more faith in Uncle Mike and Aunt Gigi :) Santa (via Mike & Gigi), had brought gifts for each of the Wagner cousins and handed them all out by name (even to Lydia!). I was very impressed, and the kids were elated. "Santa" gave Caleb a Nerf gun and Ethan a Captain America shield that shoots discs. I think it would be safe to say that these gifts were the hit of the season. I'm sad that we didn't get any pictures, but we were completely taken off guard and didn't even have the camera outside.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Christmas morning (Sunday), we all got up early so we could get ourselves and the kids dressed up in the finery they wore in Aunt Wendi's wedding four months earlier. Apparently, a picture of the seven grand kids in their wedding clothes never got taken then, so we did our best to recreate the moment for Mimi's photo op. After church, the clan headed over to Aunt Traci's house for lunch. Everybody split up for naps and the guys went to watch a movie. Next thing on the agenda was presents at Uncle Mike & Aunt Gigi's house.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Marcus, Caleb and Ethan outside Melbourne C of C</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8zun9TCg-CVoXnT9eULBl9INcmwTviwwpRMsaur8i3X5hxJdMKy8cbtmesm3eHsJ9XUKMF__pHCUUtkiBXYnHr_pBihDXPG7v5dTOa7owmjAK7hxL0qQokm-XJF4fCxxadHge7GFKRQ/s1600/IMG_3622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8zun9TCg-CVoXnT9eULBl9INcmwTviwwpRMsaur8i3X5hxJdMKy8cbtmesm3eHsJ9XUKMF__pHCUUtkiBXYnHr_pBihDXPG7v5dTOa7owmjAK7hxL0qQokm-XJF4fCxxadHge7GFKRQ/s400/IMG_3622.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNBkKrRKMcVMFPjKates04rodaqIPTt-WMWnMVJD31-YvRb1zUozm3p6BPIP9XeTlXkOqF8bw7hP7nyF0ezbAGVB47CiTx3a5tvXiCzEfMUMALzFpTm_yrQJ6lMqluitIcSYD-BjM_hw/s1600/IMG_3711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNBkKrRKMcVMFPjKates04rodaqIPTt-WMWnMVJD31-YvRb1zUozm3p6BPIP9XeTlXkOqF8bw7hP7nyF0ezbAGVB47CiTx3a5tvXiCzEfMUMALzFpTm_yrQJ6lMqluitIcSYD-BjM_hw/s400/IMG_3711.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">The best way to take a group picture of kids is in steps :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHI6wP8lvTUAGWwl8L7OLIdiYha-xDHtVC5PaJlaFbTiF5cvgyFeTh2nCxYS-kFJ9S9pQB9tJdaqT5dJGMMygUtQFtkJY6Bs58eHsy8aazzhNqI2CLxPraxEkMRlGp_z4sJiaPADSQ-E/s1600/IMG_3627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHI6wP8lvTUAGWwl8L7OLIdiYha-xDHtVC5PaJlaFbTiF5cvgyFeTh2nCxYS-kFJ9S9pQB9tJdaqT5dJGMMygUtQFtkJY6Bs58eHsy8aazzhNqI2CLxPraxEkMRlGp_z4sJiaPADSQ-E/s400/IMG_3627.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLzgYeY4IuYTu9DHTZ_pCh56EjgkTWm-pCV7xCO504jOWYP-71E2hHADX5JjylxA3KPgx079eZD7IT6yhVvF0VhwSAZHttcUqxqbsjTMGU0uvC29dLFrCkkW_aKkhbsrQ-ODFcvrG46s/s1600/IMG_3635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLzgYeY4IuYTu9DHTZ_pCh56EjgkTWm-pCV7xCO504jOWYP-71E2hHADX5JjylxA3KPgx079eZD7IT6yhVvF0VhwSAZHttcUqxqbsjTMGU0uvC29dLFrCkkW_aKkhbsrQ-ODFcvrG46s/s400/IMG_3635.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Q6C2KMlbK5RxwIpyTq1Qdq6USvoMZ36wMQtOLNDlvRtWw_BJebGMxpOwZHzkfdpEkqpq3-8F0szuFn5GPsuffT4_Yw-Z-zWWjIv2vaIKnE7-Y_dxH8QthhM1scodBq_th_RqnQrz5mk/s1600/IMG_3659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Q6C2KMlbK5RxwIpyTq1Qdq6USvoMZ36wMQtOLNDlvRtWw_BJebGMxpOwZHzkfdpEkqpq3-8F0szuFn5GPsuffT4_Yw-Z-zWWjIv2vaIKnE7-Y_dxH8QthhM1scodBq_th_RqnQrz5mk/s400/IMG_3659.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Maddie, Josh, Traci & Dallen McGough (Marcus's younger sister and her family)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbA9LfnnqcF8RJSO5cXklO9skRAw02KgsGLZ6devBYrkams5CDwmurbhU0dP5TXdGnXG_0sSjZJ2qLMrZ9fkG_h9wtOewOPRS6Y4FOybQVVti5ZGxrZ3dGO5TkOvMwaC_1CusftEd2uY/s1600/IMG_3665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbA9LfnnqcF8RJSO5cXklO9skRAw02KgsGLZ6devBYrkams5CDwmurbhU0dP5TXdGnXG_0sSjZJ2qLMrZ9fkG_h9wtOewOPRS6Y4FOybQVVti5ZGxrZ3dGO5TkOvMwaC_1CusftEd2uY/s400/IMG_3665.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Everyone hanging out at Aunt Traci's house after church.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmRyMKa3jlhYSOZpqSaZEhO7qsaszUVC5gC-NqU7IB2GsYxZq6r0UdouA8TWGbRtM3hg1IkwNWLrxwjzMDEnGphjiA6fN1_0PcQADY2hkd0aMRD8OxOQnyKWgM5VUiw6L3QlcjZrkIIs/s1600/DSC_1367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmRyMKa3jlhYSOZpqSaZEhO7qsaszUVC5gC-NqU7IB2GsYxZq6r0UdouA8TWGbRtM3hg1IkwNWLrxwjzMDEnGphjiA6fN1_0PcQADY2hkd0aMRD8OxOQnyKWgM5VUiw6L3QlcjZrkIIs/s400/DSC_1367.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhW_biRZw_ti1l00-7aFfYKVZWCI-8fVD34bYEUzZBy7YYzn6I6HD-GCB54SD7WkRDkvtozMxb-sRAxHxbhZcL7G2_kEHMe9pGxS5Qna28lTenZuG4cPvj_stvPvwbiXs6ub8e9o1VUG4/s1600/DSC_1369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhW_biRZw_ti1l00-7aFfYKVZWCI-8fVD34bYEUzZBy7YYzn6I6HD-GCB54SD7WkRDkvtozMxb-sRAxHxbhZcL7G2_kEHMe9pGxS5Qna28lTenZuG4cPvj_stvPvwbiXs6ub8e9o1VUG4/s400/DSC_1369.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUT4oBbRReXo18aF1vN55qJ3zTDLyzGW-DbXVtM1MyaSinK6Ff3kpj9eGm0Yd0rV_Wy2VkCvi75bxv94olhG-vAv91JPD1rek0Lv_ujhuOKFCxf8Zz93yOFEV6_osWSUJPSjrs8Pzy7c/s1600/DSC_1374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUT4oBbRReXo18aF1vN55qJ3zTDLyzGW-DbXVtM1MyaSinK6Ff3kpj9eGm0Yd0rV_Wy2VkCvi75bxv94olhG-vAv91JPD1rek0Lv_ujhuOKFCxf8Zz93yOFEV6_osWSUJPSjrs8Pzy7c/s400/DSC_1374.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-14570264958892735462012-01-11T13:38:00.000-05:002012-01-18T14:31:42.396-05:00Trip To Florida<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We broke the trip from Alabama to Florida at a hotel in Georgia. On the second day of driving, we stopped (as we have before) at the Castillo de San Marcos in Saint Augustine, Florida, only this time we actually paid the admission fee to go into the castle. You can see a great deal of the castle from the external grounds, and we've stopped other times to let the kids stretch their legs on the huge grassy fields. The decision to go inside this time was made over much laughter when Caleb politely asked, "Mommy, this year, can we please go inside the castle instead of just looking over the walls?" The trip went extremely well, and Lydia only cried for about 15 minutes during the whole two days of driving. We also broke out the head phones that came with our minivan, so Marcus and I were able to listen to a book on tape (Dave Ramsey) while the kids watched Disney movies with the head phones. All-in-all, it was the best road trip we have ever had with kids on board.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4S6rxMamw21t4DW4mOb5IAy7bv9Qw8K1-UoN6n6qplXkxWuEeSlK3TWtF2cci3brnQEMXBSDVNDmKozts8fmBoGJiluWCebDhfgwJ2WgUbr7tUnjrvBTOmbY8K-g2GnN0MCaCPFuR_0/s1600/DSC_1357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4S6rxMamw21t4DW4mOb5IAy7bv9Qw8K1-UoN6n6qplXkxWuEeSlK3TWtF2cci3brnQEMXBSDVNDmKozts8fmBoGJiluWCebDhfgwJ2WgUbr7tUnjrvBTOmbY8K-g2GnN0MCaCPFuR_0/s400/DSC_1357.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7N7IDKUjU1lQSVUh7VPXs3MoiqlOjaEFsuduJb3mGv3aGC3W97A6yzAsFoDCNd4ib2KQ1GnJK5Vxm-OD7pjhWaR74Zlp9D2Y8m4G0ozQD3m8tmFPNLGgOHrWv7DszWJ8AZOaiDdfGGA/s1600/DSC_1336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7N7IDKUjU1lQSVUh7VPXs3MoiqlOjaEFsuduJb3mGv3aGC3W97A6yzAsFoDCNd4ib2KQ1GnJK5Vxm-OD7pjhWaR74Zlp9D2Y8m4G0ozQD3m8tmFPNLGgOHrWv7DszWJ8AZOaiDdfGGA/s400/DSC_1336.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0NP8pQGf-kpKqTJ-TPpYAJ6PbxWQh6U_H50a3fSxLo3OQRaJjGHm_GllfvVFuGyoVoCCLEGzRJS6q9CtbzND09rT2yTlGv3RN5oL8WQ1cJ-1LgGhyiYKE1tQDyj_svbetQCfUYnzsF0/s1600/DSC_1340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0NP8pQGf-kpKqTJ-TPpYAJ6PbxWQh6U_H50a3fSxLo3OQRaJjGHm_GllfvVFuGyoVoCCLEGzRJS6q9CtbzND09rT2yTlGv3RN5oL8WQ1cJ-1LgGhyiYKE1tQDyj_svbetQCfUYnzsF0/s400/DSC_1340.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQ5nnOH9r8DU2tQil1RFEXJOJqbiA5DvIHulyGo2OzabMnrnyMP7Vq47o4ewLGwY3Wau5rCfN6OGxrIIZfaqB52ycWqpTC-x_OQiVS67Yson5c23_dQWsG5CJHeqRr1zVtQPAUcmdZ6I/s1600/DSC_1349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQ5nnOH9r8DU2tQil1RFEXJOJqbiA5DvIHulyGo2OzabMnrnyMP7Vq47o4ewLGwY3Wau5rCfN6OGxrIIZfaqB52ycWqpTC-x_OQiVS67Yson5c23_dQWsG5CJHeqRr1zVtQPAUcmdZ6I/s400/DSC_1349.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296276398562119028.post-80980789242095905052012-01-10T06:24:00.005-05:002012-01-11T07:14:02.096-05:00No More Showers With SupermanFor more than half of our time living in this house, we have used only one of our two bathrooms (at least the shower part). Our master shower sprung a leak back in 2010, and after three estimates of over $4K to fix it, we decided we could be a one-bathroom family. It really hasn't been that big of a deal most of the time to shower in the kids bathroom, but there are the little annoyances: walking between bathrooms to get towels, stepping around or cleaning up bath toys, having NO privacy (since little boys pay no attention to the closed door when nature calls). It has been a challenge when we all come in from camping or swimming and everyone needs a bath/shower at once. And, of course, there is Superman. For many months, Ethan's favorite toy was this little plastic Superman that he toted with him everywhere, including the bath. I can't tell you how many times my shower has been interrupted by stepping on Superman, fishing him out of the tub, or doing a Superman hand-off in the middle of my shower when Ethan suddenly realized where he'd left his favorite toy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the past few weeks, we have had a contractor at our house renovating both of our very dated bathrooms. As of three days ago, we now have not one but <i>two </i>fully-functioning showers, as well as two beautiful, easy-to-clean bathrooms. To say I'm excited is an understatement. The bathrooms are GORGEOUS and I love them. Ethan is just as excited as me: he loves the new counter tops, the additional sink in his bathroom ("his" sink), and, most of all, the built-in child seat on the toilet (an idea we got from Mimi's new toilets). Caleb is just happy not to have to look for a contractor-free bathroom in order to use the toilet, but Ethan exclaimed over every shiny, new thing, right along with me. Enjoy the pictures!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">BEFORE, Master Bath </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(I never got a picture of the inside of the old shower, but it was those little white square tiles and had a low shower head and low ceiling. Marcus had to bend over to get under the water.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvGc83V1VwHD80INAgAy4MmBd_-VEliCqs82-inlE9Q3UVCm6c1CcdUUnzNifimocP16QesdWm7Zm8smOOggm9tPsH-un3NEZy2CO_kQaGSYzh6hlP4k2xNUKbWzWGLYJSAN3RHAlsFI/s1600/IMG_3282+005-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvGc83V1VwHD80INAgAy4MmBd_-VEliCqs82-inlE9Q3UVCm6c1CcdUUnzNifimocP16QesdWm7Zm8smOOggm9tPsH-un3NEZy2CO_kQaGSYzh6hlP4k2xNUKbWzWGLYJSAN3RHAlsFI/s400/IMG_3282+005-1-1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVqqNln9moa1ICQGbtqxMf-nHBQJH5lZCA1q82NjjmsXyCyUIGSOLwqt-bp0n6-pHWgybsOXMWD9PB8EL_TFc92ePnfG91i6yfT4-18i4mKUqaCUnKdsb17ZBPWHykpx_ODkm8Qo73eE/s1600/IMG_3278+001-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVqqNln9moa1ICQGbtqxMf-nHBQJH5lZCA1q82NjjmsXyCyUIGSOLwqt-bp0n6-pHWgybsOXMWD9PB8EL_TFc92ePnfG91i6yfT4-18i4mKUqaCUnKdsb17ZBPWHykpx_ODkm8Qo73eE/s400/IMG_3278+001-1-1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">AFTER, Master Bath </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Mirror still needs to be mounted, but other than that, it is finished :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWvIwz2uvY5FoDIW6VxKnRpiWFoPr5hbxvIM6Y4Pb3lDjCvfM70FH5sF1q5FIHhH5pHFIQgtu1RY2nhDL3jYAr-_r09HlzRCfr2Mt7TNYoF0AYAulEVOh9RRgoiN9zxUfzmT9aQ2vgv8/s1600/DSC_1536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWvIwz2uvY5FoDIW6VxKnRpiWFoPr5hbxvIM6Y4Pb3lDjCvfM70FH5sF1q5FIHhH5pHFIQgtu1RY2nhDL3jYAr-_r09HlzRCfr2Mt7TNYoF0AYAulEVOh9RRgoiN9zxUfzmT9aQ2vgv8/s400/DSC_1536.JPG" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPY4nNLvnAQhzrOqzvuiVxDDVSWrNEYgkTJr6Nydqb0ndBFU3o5Pn7gkrewN5_OnfSf-3N-JYMn2laIEqoQtPRAHTy-Tudth1_5RszMJaSOBEbfQ_cqIkstF7EyHs4dA1nq884WzBZ_s/s1600/DSC_1534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPY4nNLvnAQhzrOqzvuiVxDDVSWrNEYgkTJr6Nydqb0ndBFU3o5Pn7gkrewN5_OnfSf-3N-JYMn2laIEqoQtPRAHTy-Tudth1_5RszMJaSOBEbfQ_cqIkstF7EyHs4dA1nq884WzBZ_s/s400/DSC_1534.JPG" width="267" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The contractor removed the shower ceiling and raised the shower head.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTQsuU3eqDv7Fp7z8OIMIFZqneh9ruTS_pLFFZaMjbdLHU9nbDNr0YNg3f4axuCJU5FT0H5HszbcLqz-m6ePQdN1ijqyek0l_xDh7JauEWeDy14c_HJmsZ6q_4tBfOD26oiFCdCODXTs/s1600/DSC_1533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTQsuU3eqDv7Fp7z8OIMIFZqneh9ruTS_pLFFZaMjbdLHU9nbDNr0YNg3f4axuCJU5FT0H5HszbcLqz-m6ePQdN1ijqyek0l_xDh7JauEWeDy14c_HJmsZ6q_4tBfOD26oiFCdCODXTs/s400/DSC_1533.JPG" width="267" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">BEFORE, Kids' Bath</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(The counter tops in both bathrooms were this strange surface of tile-ish leaf shapes embedded in concrete. They were very hard to clean and never looked good, even when clean.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinO_aVQIHbPxR8L_1c-1Idbbb22tL2veTcGVlPCKZd7NMuXTka7UfPZP3AvfDpCLHgAo-LbGhC1iusxvjuJKkHP8QC_Y_tD5g9Dy8LhGM2_Ds8nlrY5eaxF2cQMX25zlRMUhvmutxN8bI/s1600/IMG_3247+009-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinO_aVQIHbPxR8L_1c-1Idbbb22tL2veTcGVlPCKZd7NMuXTka7UfPZP3AvfDpCLHgAo-LbGhC1iusxvjuJKkHP8QC_Y_tD5g9Dy8LhGM2_Ds8nlrY5eaxF2cQMX25zlRMUhvmutxN8bI/s400/IMG_3247+009-1-1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzYvK5CJAc0xxYZjwTWvNNO-RnS66-cF7MacBnkJR4mfxC0eu7R0tklGCvYX8VfxmlCE1v9bMmagLqgiNdjeTaKFkieoMppGoIXszLAInXRh8dS_sGwz412y1vkwm6wuIpADP2pJFTtc/s1600/IMG_3249+011-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzYvK5CJAc0xxYZjwTWvNNO-RnS66-cF7MacBnkJR4mfxC0eu7R0tklGCvYX8VfxmlCE1v9bMmagLqgiNdjeTaKFkieoMppGoIXszLAInXRh8dS_sGwz412y1vkwm6wuIpADP2pJFTtc/s400/IMG_3249+011-1-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> AFTER, Kids' Bath</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAjSYIaqlk3jOegZWf_SxiPvWmInrG88AHoVSlvzsF1WTBDfMDkUfiDiyAcCjsly8h_EC4kkVdmZzB9y7oioltAtYHo-VvJLPPJ63eEht4z-0oyG1X7LkcmQy1JTJRImGlOR94YORJEU/s1600/DSC_1525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAjSYIaqlk3jOegZWf_SxiPvWmInrG88AHoVSlvzsF1WTBDfMDkUfiDiyAcCjsly8h_EC4kkVdmZzB9y7oioltAtYHo-VvJLPPJ63eEht4z-0oyG1X7LkcmQy1JTJRImGlOR94YORJEU/s400/DSC_1525.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDX8T50tMwzmeZZgNoOyhONZ2JYP-ZBo8VE5ZdOT0IQfxP6OJWwNCQdwdWnU9XdBiJLoLIjlPoyYq5urbTfbvh1mFFs6Mr0C65K4POIn1vjgkYuvjBSTRMyIG6E1IstDVivI-fFU-8_i0/s1600/DSC_1527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDX8T50tMwzmeZZgNoOyhONZ2JYP-ZBo8VE5ZdOT0IQfxP6OJWwNCQdwdWnU9XdBiJLoLIjlPoyYq5urbTfbvh1mFFs6Mr0C65K4POIn1vjgkYuvjBSTRMyIG6E1IstDVivI-fFU-8_i0/s400/DSC_1527.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wPr5oYSZ3snwcZgkdkvdy8PKCzbxtLhTny6iAUsB6Cb3xnyHmsFoMe7Dzwuz9DrsUQjkrg0ObYvKxiXBDChhcfHz_H9jP7LEzhUIDggxpYiQ0E01cHZ12Ay128zym9qkJdnAu9DMxiI/s1600/DSC_1528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wPr5oYSZ3snwcZgkdkvdy8PKCzbxtLhTny6iAUsB6Cb3xnyHmsFoMe7Dzwuz9DrsUQjkrg0ObYvKxiXBDChhcfHz_H9jP7LEzhUIDggxpYiQ0E01cHZ12Ay128zym9qkJdnAu9DMxiI/s400/DSC_1528.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10314642727958697570noreply@blogger.com1