Christmas Shopping

Who ever thought that online shopping could be so much fun?

I love shopping, especially Christmas shopping. I always enjoy the Christmas music being piped through the various stores, and yes, even sometimes the crowds. Everyone is in the Christmas spirit. However this year, my back is not in the Christmas spirit.

This past Saturday, my back decided to go out without me. It goes out more than I do. I must talk to my back about this.

I have been snooping around on Walmart, Target and BestBuy.com lately -- just checking out the merchandise. After my chiropractor's appointment yesterday, I decided to run (okay, drive) to Target. I wasn't so much in the Christmas spirit. My back was revolting against me. Luckily, I had committed some of the online prices to memory, and realized, they have much better deals online for what I was looking for! So, I caved to the back pain, drove home, and click click click, did my shopping from the comfort of my office chair, complete with fuzzy slippers & cup of hot tea.

I think I could get used to shopping in my fuzzy slippers. Maybe all stores should offer fuzzy slippers & hot tea to their customers. I doubt they'd have as many tempers flaring. Just my $.02.

Happy Cyber Shopping!

Fall Photo Shoot

I had really wanted all 4 of us to have a family picture outside with the leaves. Fall is my most favorite season of the year. I love all of the colors exploding off of the trees.

I was starting to get in the mind frame of getting the Christmas Card photo taken. Well, as it happens, fall seems to be a very busy season for us, as well as being my favorite. It seemed that most times there were 3 out of the 4 of us present... which makes it very hard to get a family picture, unless we get really creative & photoshop one of us in! (don't think I haven't thought about it!)

Well, I figured if Mike & I didn't appear in the picture, it wasn't the end of the world. I had both boys at my fingertips. I was on a mission! So one day after school, I ambushed the boys with a change of clothes. It wasn't well received. I got 2 eye rolls, a scoff and stomping up the stairs to change. Great.

Both boys came downstairs. Not happy, mind you. I put on my best happy face, and out the door we went! Oh, and did I mention that we only had 20 minutes to do this photo shoot? Ya, it was a swim practice night.

The neighborhood right behind us is absolutely beautiful, both landscape-wise, and house-wise. Many of the lots are still vacant, and they have gorgeous mature trees -- much unlike the poor Charlie Brown twig in our front yard... but that's beside the point.

We jumped in the Suburban, off on an adventure. I parked near a bridge over a stream. Brandon could not for the life of him understand WHY I wanted to take a picture of him on a BRIDGE. Okay whatever. Smile, honey!

After the bridge, we went over to a lot with a beautiful tree. Time was ticking, mind you.

As we pulled into our own neighborhood, I noticed these bright red bushes. Nice backdrop. Click, click, click. DONE! Now, run home & start getting your suits on!

I was glad I took the plunge this day to take a few pictures. The next day it started to rain. It rained for 5 days straight! And unfortunately due to all the rain, it tore most of the leaves off of the trees. Boo!

While none of these pictures made it onto our official "card", they did make it into the newsletter. They're in my photo albums for FOREVER, and that's all that matters to me!

Enjoy!

H1N1...GO AWAY!

Well, in my last posting, I had mentioned that only 3 of us had gotten sick with the flu. With a new week came a new onset of the flu.

On Monday evening, we went to swimming, then out to grab dinner. In the middle of dinner, Brandon complained of a stomach ache. We thought, "okay, here we go..." We got home & he went right to bed. He woke up the next morning, still complaining of a stomach ache & a headache, so I kept him home from school. However, by lunchtime, he was just fine... bouncing around the house.

He woke up on Wednesday feeling fine, so he went to school.

In the middle of the night on Wednesday, Brandon crawled in bed with us. Mike & I usually brace ourselves because that means we're in for a night of kidney kicks, face slaps, and lots of wiggles! Brandon is not a calm sleeper... However, he was weirdly calm, but kept moaning & breathing in a way that only HE does when he has a fever. And guess what... he did.

I called school & let him sleep in. By the time he woke up on Thursday, his temperature was at 101. It climbed to 102.5, and I gave him some Motrin. And with the Motrin comes an entirely different kid! It's a wonder drug as far as I'm concerned!! But, once the Motrin wears off, he's a dishrag. He took a 3.5 hour nap!

Well, it's Friday, and the little man is still running a fever. It's lower today, and is hovering around 100.5 without Motrin. But he's still complaining of a headache -- and well, who could blame him. I'd have one if I had a fever too. :(

However, he was giving me a little attitude earlier today. That could mean...
1) he's tired of being sick
2) he's tired of the flu
3) he's feeling better
4) he's tired of me
5) all of the above

I'm hoping his fever leaves him soon, and that he's on the road to recovery. I'm hoping for a germ-free house!!

Take care,
Jenni

Catching up, part 2

Okay, clearly I stink at keeping this thing up lately! I think I need a secretary.

Once again, I'm going to let the past go & just go with what has happened recently. Sound like a plan? Okay!

My grandparents came from Arizona to visit us Hoosiers in September. We were SO glad to see them!! I was lucky enough to score a home visit from them. They hadn't seen our new house yet. My parents came over as well. We all went out to dinner at Mitchell's Fish Market, where we had our own private room. Oooh, swanky! Actually, that was a last-minute dealie... that we all really enjoyed!

Brandon turned EIGHT on September 20th!! Where did my baby go??
We celebrated his actual birthday with my mom & dad. They spent the night the night before, and were able to spend Brandon's whole birthday with him! We went to church, then out to Brandon's favorite restaurant, Macaroni Grill. And Brandon got to order whatever he wanted. For an appetizer, he ordered Calamari. Yep, calamari. He LOVES calamari! (yes, that's what is hanging out of his mouth...)

We weren't able to fit in a party around his actual birthday with busy weekends and all. So, we opted to have his party on October 4th at one of his favorite places...BOUNCE PLANET!

Brandon invited his buddies & had a great time.

Bounce Planet is a really great place for children of any age to run around. It is split into 2 different "play" rooms. Each room is filled with giant inflatable playthings (i.e. slides, obstacle courses, etc...).

They can run & jump as much as they want. In fact, it's highly encouraged!! Where were these places when we were little?? Anyway, you spend 35 minutes in each play room. Then, you have a private party room where you have pizza & cake.

After you eat, then you get tokens to play video games. Again, WHERE were these kinds of places when we were little? I have to admit, I think Mike & I had just as much fun as the kids did. We each got in & jumped around with them too! Mike & I also raced each other through the obstacle courses. Let me just tell you how one obstacle course can let you know just HOW out of shape you are! However, I'm happy to report that Mike & I were neck-in-neck the entire way through it. Although, he didn't seem to be breathing nearly as hard as I was when we finished... ;) At any rate, tons of fun was had by all!!

Both boys are in swimming right now. Ryan is on a swim team of sorts through our YMCA. He is quite a powerhouse in the water! It's been amazing watching him refine his strokes & get stronger and faster with them. He swims constantly for 45 minutes M/W/F. Brandon is in regular swim lessons, and continues to improve as well! This session ends the beginning of November, and I'm hoping they'll want to continue with them!

Our family got hit with the H1N1 flu already. Ryan came home from school this past Monday (10/5) not feeling so great. By that evening, he had a fever of 100 degrees, was coughing, and was achy. Tuesday morning, his fever was up to 104.4 degrees along with all of the mentioned symptoms -- he was flat-out miserable. I called the doctor, and because of his history with asthma, they wanted to see him. So, we went. She said we could do one of two things... have him tested & because of his history with asthma, if he tested positive, he would receive Tamiflu for treatment; or do nothing & just let him ride it out. We opted for the test. The test is supposed to take 10-15 minutes for the results. Our doctor was back in at 5 minutes...he had already tested positive. Oookay. So, off to the drugstore we went to get his Rx for Tamiflu filled! While we were waiting for that, I went to the grocery store (left Ryan in the car -- doors locked, don't worry!), got the "essentials", and rented several movies. We came home, I put a tv/DVD player in his bedroom & per doctors suggestions, QUARANTINED poor Ryan in his bedroom. Now, before you start thinking I'm some terrible mother, just know that Ryan was ALL ABOUT having a TV in his room -- it's quite a novelty because Mike & I don't like TV's in the kids rooms. So he was watching movies like they were going out of style. And, when he needed something, he would... are you ready for this?... TEXT me. Kids have it so rough thesedays. ;)

I'd love to say that the flu ended with Ryan. But it didn't. I was the next victim, only to be followed very closely by Mike. By Wednesday evening, all 3 of us had assumed positions on the couch. Mike's boss sent him home on Wednesday & told him he didn't want to see him until the next week! While Mike & I didn't have it quite as badly as Ryan, it wasn't fun nonetheless. Between the 2 of us, we represented most of the 7 dwarves... snotty, sneezy, coughey, achy, pukey, poopy, and grumpy. Oh wait, these are the OTHER 7 dwarves that you don't hear about all that much. ;) We were a sight!

Today, Sunday, was the first day I ventured out of the house since I took Ryan to the doctor. Fresh air!!

So far, and we're keeping fingers & toes crossed, Brandon has escaped the flu. We really hope it stays that way. His nose was a little out of joint when he'd leave for school each day. He wanted to stay home & "have fun" like the rest of us. Hmmm, either we have a sick & twisted version of fun, or he got some erroneous information. I'm banking on the latter. That being said, Friday, he thought he needed to stay home because "his arm hurt". Sorry, unless you have a fever, you're coughing uncontrollably or your body aches so badly that it hurts to move, you're going to school! He went, but he was NOT happy about it! ;)

Here's hoping we have an UNEVENTFUL week this week!

Love,
Jenni

MAJOR catching-up!

Holy cow... it's been a really long time since I blogged last. In fact, I think I'm going to have to let most of the things that happened between then & now go, and just start with what happened recently!

1. Our old house finally SOLD!! YAY! It was on the market for 8 months, and we sold it to a very nice single mother with a daughter the same age as Ryan. We were so thankful that our home could be passed on to another good family. It was odd going into the house the night before closing... I cleaned and vacuumed one last time. I went to each of the boys' rooms & instantly remembered so many things that had taken place in there. Looking at different places in the house made me very nostalgic... the banister upstairs where Ryan used to sit & hang his legs down; where Brandon took his first step... It finally hit me that I'll never be walking through that door again, and I won't be able to look at those spots again. It made me sad! All of this time I've looked at that house as a "burden", when now I see that it holds so many memories. We've all closed a chapter in our book of life, and now will start a new one.

2. Ryan finished 4th grade! This was a big year because for 5th grade, he will go to the Intermediate School. The next time he & Brandon will be in the same school building will be when Ryan is a senior & Brandon is a freshman in HIGH SCHOOL. Agh!! The 4th graders celebrate in style as they leave. The day before school ends, they have a "Fourth Grade Celebration". This consists of water, water, and wait... more water!! Each of the teachers mans a game that has water involved. The kids have a mandatory clothing change because they end up SOAKED! They had so much fun though! Ryan had a really good year this year. His grades were outstanding, and his teacher, Mrs. Joseph, was just phenominal. She received a Golden Apple Teaching Award this year... which is a highly sought-after award for teachers in Indiana & Illinois!

3. Brandon finished up 1st grade! He too, had a great year & had a great teacher, Miss Seger. She was really great at getting the kids to think "outside of the box"! His grades were very good, and I think he learned quite a bit this year. He's really looking forward to 2nd grade and being one of the "bigger" kids. Brandon also hit a big milestone here in the past couple of weeks... he learned how to ride his bike WITHOUT his training wheels! HOORAY!! He was quite proud of himself, and I have to say, we were proud, too! Daddy had the privilege of running behind & alongside him while he learned. I was glad for that because it made me tired just watching!! ;)

4. Just when you thought we were done raising amphibians & assorted animals, we adopted yet another one. UGH. While working outside in the yard, Mike found a salamander. Of course, he brought it up to show the boys. They instantly looked at me & said, "Can we keep it mom??? PLEASE????" After pointing out to me that we still had the frog aquarium set up (from our tree frog, Spritz... may he rest in peace), it would perfect for him... I caved. Why not? After "promising" that they would help take care of him, we brought him in the house. So "Sal" as we call him, now resides in Brandon's room in the former frog habitat. We don't see much of Sal because salamanders are nocturnal. Sal hangs out underneath the water dish. We buy crickets & dump them in about every other day. Sal is quite the cricket catcher! However, I have yet to see either of the boys feed him, give him water, or really, make sure he's still kicking. (sigh) Looks like I've inherited another job... and pet.

5. We went to the Indy Air Show. We had won 4 tickets from an auction, and since we'd never been before, we thought this was a great opportunity. Mike's boss did a fly-by with a KC-135... so the kids thought that was pretty cool to see daddy's plane in action! They thought the Blue Angels were pretty cool too. This air show was pretty relaxed, and we were able to bring in our bag chairs along with a cooler. It was nice to be able to claim a spot, sit our stuff down & relax instead of standing all day. :)

6. Ryan participated in a dance recital earlier this month. Now, before you start jumping to conclusions... no, he does not take dance lessons. Our neighbor across the street, Becca (who is 2 years older than Ryan), takes dance classes; ballet, as a matter of fact. For their spring recital, they were performing Cinderella. The girls needed a boy partner for the "ballroom" scene. She came over & asked Ryan if he would help her... he immediately said, "sure". Mike & I nearly passed out. This is coming from a kid who we could not sing "Happy Birthday" to for the first 3 years of his life because he would put his hands over his ears & scream; this is coming from a kid who for every single school musical, looks like he's going to vomit at any given moment... so for him to say yes to this, frankly, surprised the heck out of us!! After weeks of going to practice, he learned his part of the "dance"... which mainly consisted of following Becca around, holding her arms while she did turns, and when they bowed, he bowed along with her. It was awesome seeing him up there. He looked so handsome and he did such a GREAT job... and didn't once look like he was going to vomit!! It also helped that his buddy Max, Becca's brother (who is Ryan's age), did the dance as well. Max couldn't dance with his sister because he is quite a bit shorter than she is... Ryan was more her height, hence Ryan doing the dance with her.

7. Ryan turned TEN!!! Where did my baby go? It doesn't seem possible that he could be 10 years old. My baby is double digits now!! To celebrate, we always let the kids pick out a place to go & eat. Ryan chose "Abuelos", a mexican restaurant. We told the waiter it was his birthday, so he brought out this yummy dessert!However, Ryan didn't realize that we were ALL going to want some of it! ;) Grandpa Ron & Grandma Bernie joined us for his celebration too!

Much to his dismay, we had to spend his birthday at Cub Scout camp with Brandon. In Ryan's words... BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. He wasn't thrilled; however, I think he got to see what it's like to be an adult along for the ride at camp! ;) Nevertheless, he kept himself occupied that day. How, you ask? He got a cell phone for his birthday! It's a touch-screen dealie, and he has unlimited texting. So for any of you that he knows, and knows your cell number... LOOK OUT!! He has mad texting skills already! ;) The first day he had his phone, he received 27 texts. ugh. It's amazing how many of his friends have them. I keep telling him that I was TWENTY-FOUR when I got my first phone. He just rolls his eyes... Since he'll be at a different school next year, and on an entirely different schedule than Brandon, we wanted him to have a phone... in the event he misses the bus, stays for homework club, has a sporting event, etc...

8. Cub Scout Camp. Brandon is going this week, June 22-26 to a day camp. Mike is his den leader, so he has been going along with him...all but Tuesday, when Ryan & I went with him. It has been, quite possibly, THE hottest days yet of summer while this camp has taken place. It's been in the 90's each day with about 90% humidity & tons of sunshine. For the one day I was there, it reminded me just how much of a heat wimp I am, and how I'm really not an "outdoorsy" kind of girl! This girl appreciates air conditioning! Brandon has been having fun, but isn't enjoying it as much as we thought he would. Each year he'd go along with Ryan, he couldn't WAIT to do what Ryan was doing... and now that he can, well, I don't think it's quite as exciting as he thought it would be. But, I'm sure the heat isn't helping either...

9. Webelos Adventure Camp. Ryan & Mike are headed out on Sunday for overnight camping adventures until Wednesday. While Mike is gearing up for it, Ryan has voiced MANY times that he doesn't want to go!! Unfortunately, I think our boys have inherited my camping skills... or lack there of, for that matter. I think once he gets there, he'll be fine & will end up having fun. Right now, we're just trying to get all of his gear together & I'm labeling his clothes, yes... even his underwear, with a Sharpie marker.

10. Okay, I couldn't let this end on an odd number! ;)

I think that's about all of the news I have for now. I am going to try & do a better job of keeping up with this thing!

Love, Jenni

Vacation!

We experienced Walt Disney World and lived to tell about it! ;)

They boys are STILL talking about it 2 weeks later, so I'm taking that as a good sign that it was a successful vacation!

We were avid park-goers while we were there. We arrived on Tuesday, and it was kind of cool & VERY windy. So cool & windy in fact, we didn't bring enough warm clothes! We braved it thinking the wind would die down. We got to Animal Kingdom & eyed up the $35 sweatshirts, but decided to pass. We're tough, right? Right! After the first day being chilly, the next day was cool, but after that, we were in shorts!! Yippee!!

Brandon got to ride the much-anticipated "Dinosaur" ride at Animal Kingdom. He was like a little sponge all throughout the trip. He could tell you every detail about everything... if you've got several hours to listen. (He's very precise when describing things!)

Ryan held true to his promise of riding roller coasters... and that made mommy VERY happy! She finally had someone to ride with! We rode on every rollercoaster in every park, with the exception to the Aerosmith's Rock'n Rollercoaster at Hollywood Studios. That one goes upside down at some point, and Ryan wasn't sure he was ready for that. We set that for our goal next trip! Ryan also was brave & went on the "Tower of Terror" ride at Hollywood Studios. He's decided that while yes, it was a grown-up ride, he'd like to be a little more grown-up the next time he rides it! ;) I told him that was fine. I was so proud of him for trying new things!!

We thoroughly enjoyed each & every park, and got to do just about everything we set out to do. We had painstakingly planned each day, and well, that sort of went out the window once we were there. I mean, we ended up using our plans, but weren't so rigid... and that was just fine!

Disney was having records set on the amounts of people in the parks. There were so many people there that they were actually closing parks because they were at maximum capacity! We remembered to bring our patience with us... oh, and our iPods too! The iPods were our best decision ever. We had lots of longing looks from other kids; as well as other parents. We had several parents comment that they were going to do the same thing the next day! I had downloaded not only music, but also videos for them to watch. This really helped pass the time while we were waiting in some pretty long lines.

After a friend had given us a tip of staying at the parks until pretty late at night, we were able to ride on so many more rides, and multiple times. Disney allows their hotel guests to stay 3 hours past park closing on certain nights. We took full advantage of this at the Magic Kingdom several nights we were there. I know it sounds crazy, but we were at the park until almost 2 a.m.! However, we could walk onto just about any ride we wanted, and if there was a wait, it was only like 5-10 minutes! Can't beat that!

We opted to take a day off from the parks & just hang by the pool one day. That was our best decision. Not only were our "dogs barking", but we all just needed the down-time and relaxation. We decided to skip out on Sea World this trip, but maybe next time we go we'll catch it. On this day, we decided that we'd like to hear about the Disney Timeshare opportunity. We have a few friends that have done this & thought we'd check into it, seeing as how the kids were having so much fun & were already planning their next trip! While it sounds wonderful, and IS wonderful, we decided it just wasn't for us right now. However, for listening to the opportunity, they rewarded our children with FAST PASSES. 24 of them, to be exact! And these weren't any ordinary Fast Passes. These were INSTANT Fast Passes!! WOW!!! We were so grateful that we had chosen to listen. And again folks, the Disney Vacation Club IS a really wonderful thing!

Our last day at Disney, we hit all 4 parks in one day. Yes, 4 parks in one day. F-O-U-R parks in O-N-E day. The more I say it, I still can't believe it. It makes me tired to remember it! I have to say though, everyone was a trooper. With the 24 Fast Passes, we made a plan. We chose our most favorite rides we wanted to do again; those we hadn't done; and those we just couldn't live without riding again! We were on a mission.

Animal Kingdom: Dinosaur & Expedition Everest

Epcot: Soarin' & Test Track

Hollywood Studios: Tower of Terror & Toy Story Mania

Magic Kingdom: Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin & Space Mountain.

Now, we didn't ALL ride all of these rides, but just about! We split up... it was usually Brandon & Mike; and Ryan & I together.

After hitting all 4 parks, we left the next morning. We were all so tired. The plane ride home was pretty quiet. The car ride home was very quiet. Getting ready for bed - meltdown city. The fatigue had finally caught up with everyone. Mike & I were walking zombies. The boys were crying hysterically. At the same time. Apparently, they thought we were going to take up residence at Disney. Hmmmm. We heard how awful we were that they had to come home. How much they hated school. How they missed Disney. Brandon coined a new phrase that night. He said he was "Park Sick". I asked him what that meant. He said, "Y'know, it's like I'm homesick, only I'm Parksick". So there you have it. My boys are parksick. Parksick & so incredibly tired that Mike & I haven't had to console both kids at once since they were babies!! It was worth it though. They played hard, and were such troopers.

The entire vacation was SO. MUCH. FUN!!! Like I said, we're all still talking about it... so that must be a good sign, right? I think the boys would go back tomorrow if given the chance.

P.S. I'm having some technical difficulties with uploading my pictures, so I guess they'll come later!

Love,

Jenni

Oh my...

Okay, so the boys and I are out at lunch today. A conversation pops up about having babies. Uh oh...

Just a little back story... we were watching a show on TLC last night titled "I was pregnant and I didn't know it". Okay, probably NOT the best choice of shows for the boys, but they really seemed intrigued by it, so I sat with them just in case any questions popped up -- and they didn't.

Today at lunch, Brandon announces, "I'm so glad I'm not a girl." I ask him why. He says, "Well, that way I don't have to have surgery... y'know, to get the babies out." I smiled and said, "Well, not all mommies have to have surgery to get the babies out like I did." I left it at that because really, I didn't think Subway was the place to have "the talk".

He sits there for a minute. Thinking.

Then he says, "Well, when I get married and if my wife dies while she's having a baby, I'm DEFINITELY getting remarried."

And, there you have it.

Where that thought came from, I'll never know. I had to turn away & keep chewing on the bite I had just taken so I didn't choke on it!

Ryan immediately started laughing and said, "Mom, are you going to blog about this?"

Oh, my kids know me too well... ;)

2 More Days...

until we leave for DISNEY!!

The boys are so excited, they can hardly sleep. And I have to admit, I am too! ;) I think this is quite possibly the most excited I've ever been to go on a vacation. Not sure why. But I think it has to do with how pumped the boys are... I truly cannot wait to capture the looks on their faces when we enter the parks!

We're trying to decide if Sea World is in our plans or not. Here's the deal... Disney really takes care of the military. Mike scored a FREE 5-day Park Hopper Ticket. That's pretty major! He also scored us 4 FREE tickets to Sea World. Sea World takes care of the military as well! WE LOVE THEM!!!

On Tuesday, we will have to wake up at 0'dark thirty; leave the house by 5:45, drive to the airport (which I'm guessing, we don't hit much traffic at that hour!), find parking, check bags, and go through security...all to take-off by 8am. Okay, no big deal. We land, a towncar picks us up, we stop at a grocery store for 30 minutes, then we go to the resort and check-in... ready to go.

Our dilemma is this: do we hit one of the Disney parks Tuesday, when by the time we get there, everyone may be ready to crash; go to Disney parks until Saturday, then take in Sea World on Sunday? OR, do we just hang out at the resort & go to the pool and relax on Tuesday; hit the ground running on Wednesday & do Disney all through Sunday? We're not really sure what the best answer is. We have already paid for the tix for Disney, so we know that's a constant at 5 days. BUT, do we skip the free Sea World tickets and relax for a day, or do we try everyone's endurance & do a marathon vacation of both Disney AND Sea World?

I think the answer to this is, we'll just have to play it by ear.

And you thought vacation was relaxing! Mike & I have already said that we'll need another vacation to decompress from THIS vacation! ;)

Oh, and in case you're wondering... no, the boys are NOT getting cell phones! However, they turned their interests to iPods. Mike & I worked out some details with the boys in order to actually GET the iPods. It's a "use by privilege" deal... they do work, they get to use the iPod. When they don't do work, Mom or Dad keep the iPod. So today, I've been downloading music & videos like a fiend, getting it all ready for vacation. We thought this would help alleviate excessive whining while waiting in line; seeing as this is one of Disney's most busy weeks & we foresee a lot of waiting in line. Sounds good on paper -- we'll see if it works in real life...

Love,

Jenni

SPRING BREAK!!!

Official Countdown... 5 days until we leave! Where are we going?

DISNEY WORLD!

We're SO excited!! We've been twice before, but the boys were so young... I think they only remember it from the pictures & video they've seen.

So, we leave on Tuesday morning, and will party with "The Mouse" until the next Monday! YAY!!

We will be visiting the Magic Kingdom

Epcot

Hollywood Studios

Animal Kingdom

Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon

Downtown Disney

and Seaworld!

It's a little overwhelming to figure out what parks we're going to hit on what days; if the weather will cooperate; and if little legs (and big legs, for that matter!) will be willing to walk so much! A good friend advised us that we should rent a stroller. She has kids our exact kids' ages, and she said they rented a double stroller while at Disney this fall -- she said her oldest was in it just as much as her youngest was! I've made that mental note... and am wondering if I could somehow crawl into it as well??

Brandon is SO into dinosaurs. Animal Kingdom has "Dinoland USA", and he is so excited about it, he can hardly sit still. But really, how is this different from any other time he can't sit still? Hmmm. Anyway, he's already told us that he's only going to ONE park and ONE park only... Animal Kingdom. I think he's convinced that we'll just leave him there to go on a dino-dig, ride the Dinosaur Ride, and do his stuff. WRONG!! Oh, and did I mention that he's asking for a cell phone for the trip?

Ryan has decided that he's going to try some of the bigger rides at Disney this time, like roller coasters! I will be so excited if he follows through with this! Um, and did I mention that he also asked for a cell phone for this trip? Who do these kids think they're going to call? Mickey himself?!! I've pointed out to them that I was TWENTY FOUR when I got my first cell phone. That doesn't seem to phase them. (sigh)

We have logged onto Disney.com so many times, I'm sure they're sick of us! We've mapped out what rides we're going to ride. I also became a member of a "secret site" of sorts that gives explicit details on how to avoid crowds, get the best times for Fast Passes, and essentially, make the most out of your vacation. We'll see if it works. I, of course, have our vacation mapped out, and loaded nicely into a binder. I have an itinerary for each day; which parks we'll go to, what time we'll leave to "take a break", etc... Again, we'll see if that 'plan' really works! ;) We may end up throwing the binder to the side & just winging it! At any rate, the week we'll be there is one of Disney's busiest (of course). So, we'll need to remember to bring our patience with us. I've already decided that the boys will be able to bring their Nintendo DS's along in the park -- to kill some time while waiting in lines. Also, the iPods will be out in force... mommy may even resort to hers!

We'll keep you updated on the vacation. We're just so excited!!! I've been excited for our past trips to Disney before, but this time is really special. The boys are SO excited, and therefore, I'm excited just to see the looks on their faces. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Love,

Jenni

Newspaper star!

Ryan made it to the Indy Star this week!

His 4th grade class is working on a really cool segment in school right now. It's tied to both a geometry section in math, and creative writing for english. They are studying different geometry shapes, and also writing about fairy tales. How do these 2 tie together you ask?

The geometry shapes get made into castles. Students bring in all different shapes/sizes of boxes, cylinders, you name it. This past Wednesday, each student was allowed to bring a 'special guest' to help them construct their castles. Mike went to help Ryan. Ryan's teacher asked if I would be available to help other students whose parents were unable to come, so I helped a boy named Austin. I have to admit, I had a blast! Mike & Ryan had a blast as well! Each student had a list & had to pick a certain amount of different shapes that were to be represented in their castles. Not only did they pick shapes, but also different angles to be represented. Let me tell you, my brain had not thought about obtuse angles in quite some time... had to clear the dust a little! ;) After castles are made, they tie in with the fairy tales the kids are writing in english class! How cool is that?!

On Thursday, the kids painted their castles. What a transformation! Their castles went from looking like a stack of Rice Krispies boxes to gray/red/blue/green castle walls! Oatmeal canisters turned into turrets. Nerds boxes turned into the tops of the castle walls. Toothpicks with triangles glued to them turned into pennants. It was so cool to see the transformation!

On Friday, the kids were able to decorate their castles with beads, glitter, paper, or anything brought from home. I noticed that most of the girls used beads, glitter and cotton balls. The boys had a lot of Lego pieces, dragons, skeletons and gladiators! So funny to see the differences.

Please enjoy this article. While Ryan wasn't featured by himself in any of the pictures, he was in several of them (in the background). http://www.indystar.com/article/20090314/LOCAL0103/903140366/1015/LOCAL01
Be sure to click on the gallery pictures...he's in several of them!

Ryan's 4th grade teacher has been nominated for a "Golden Apple Teaching Award", and this project is one of the reasons WHY she was nominated. She really gets the kids to think outside of the box, all while having fun doing it! She is truly phenominal, and has made quite an impact on Ryan. I have a feeling that she will always be "the teacher" that he'll remember.

Please let me know if you cannot get the link to work, and I'll try to fix it.

Enjoy!
Jenni

"Spritz" the Tree frog

What a week!

Ryan had ISTEP testing all week, and was exhausted.

Brandon had strep throat, and recovered.

Mike met himself coming & going with work & Cub Scouts.

Jenni had a meeting every day of the week.

"Spritz" the tree frog, however, had a much worse week. You see, Spritz led a very boring life. Get up, take a dip in the water, eat some fruit flies, sleep, repeat. Spritz was looking a little thin at the beginning of the week. Spritz wasn't moving around a lot. Spritz was only 1/2 inch long... he never grew!

On Thursday afternoon, while straightening up Brandon's room, I noticed that Spritz was even thinner than usual, and looked like he was a little shriveled. Spritz had passed.

At 4pm I picked up Brandon from his after-school "cooking club" and broke the news. Brandon was upset for about 2 seconds, then said, "Y'know mom, maybe we could sell Spritz's skeleton to the Children's Museum... I bet they'd want it!" That caught me off guard! It was a little alarming to me that my little darling was out to make a buck off of a recently deceased tree frog! There's my little entrepreneur.

At 4:30pm we picked up Ryan from is Math Bowl practice, and I broke the news. He burst out into tears. (Quite the opposite reaction I got from Brandon!) We got home, and Ryan had to check it out... well, both of the boys did. Ryan came down & alerted me that Spritz was still breathing. Sure enough, he was. I felt like a moron for announcing that he was dead.

About an hour later, Ryan came back downstairs to me, crying. He announced that Spritz was dead again. Okay, so I go up to check. Nope, he was indeed breathing again. What??!

So, we left Spritz alone. Honestly, I was afraid to look to see whether he was dead or alive. I was starting to doubt my ability to tell!

As of Friday afternoon, our beloved Spritz had passed. And yes, this time I was sure of it.

A burial was done in the front bushes.

We have, as a family, decided that while raising tadpoles, froglets, and frogs was fun; however, we probably won't do it again.

Let's hope that this next week is a little less eventful!

It's a...

GIRL!!!!

On Friday, January 30th, the Indianapolis Hoke Family grew by 4 tiny feet...

We adopted a new kitten, and we named her Sophie! Jenni is beyond excited that there is actually another GIRL in the house; however, that means that she will have to share her "Queen of the Household" title now with Sophie... but thinks that Sophie could be the "Princess" of the household. ;)

Sophie was born sometime in November, and was abandoned in a field along with 2 other litter mates. The other 2 didn't survive. The family that rescued her took wonderful care of her and bottle-fed her. She is eating normal food now.

We've forgotten how everything turns into a game for a kitten! Jenni found this out at 5a.m. this morning when she turned over & Sophie attacked her hand! Yes, Sophie slept with us. She is a snuggler!

The boys are so excited about Sophie, and are already making the shopping list at PetSmart for all of the toys she's going to need! This coming week, Sophie will take a trip to the vet - which I'm sure she's going to hate. However, we want to get her vaccinated & make sure she's healthy. We also want to ask how quickly her front claws can come out -- we also forgot how little kitties love to scratch!! We're hoping that with another "free" pet doesn't come a bill like with our dog, Kramer! ;)

Sophie is very feisty. The other cats aren't too sure what to think of her. They each had a stand-off with her last night. I'd have to say that Scout is just curious about her; the jury is still out on Boomer. However, Sophie is having none of it. She is the one that attacked both of the other cats! Maybe chalk it up to "small cat syndrome"... ;) Kramer has only seen the cat through a window... we'll do a face-to-face introduction soon. He's just so big & clunky that we're afraid he'll jump on her & not mean to! He just gets so excited to meet new people/animals & his first instinct is to jump!

Sophie LOVES to play...especially with a piece of ribbon. This has proved HOURS of entertainment for her!

Enjoy the pictures of our new baby girl!

Oh, and in case you're wondering what the pet count is up to now at the Hoke house, it is as follows...

1 Chocolate Lab - Kramer

1 Tree Frog - Spritz

2 Cats - Scout & Boomer

1 Kitten - Sophie

Maybe the Partridge in a Pear Tree is next... ;)

Love,

Jenni

Snow Day!

We finally had our first real snow day of the school year!

Wednesday, January 28th, we woke up to nearly 12 inches of snow!! Everyone was excited!

We bundled the boys up, and off they went...

Seeing as how I was still sort of "ouchy" from my surgery, I didn't go out in the snow & play. Which also means, no pictures were taken of the boys actually PLAYING in the snow. I'm bummed that I didn't send the camera out with Mike. BUT, the snow is still on the ground, and maybe this weekend, I'll make it out to play or at least take some pictures!

I did dodge a bullet... with my restrictions of lifting/pushing/pulling, my duties of snow shoveling were defaulted to Mike & the boys! Ha ha ha!!

They went out (all THREE of my boys!) twice for at least 2 hours each time. Needless to say, that when bedtime rolled around, NO ONE questioned it. I think the boys were asleep before their heads even hit their pillows! :)

The boys were out of school on Wednesday, and had 2-hour delays on both Thursday & Friday mornings. The reason for the delays was that with 12 inches of snow, it didn't have many places to go but on the curbs. When there are 12 inches of snow on the curbs, that doesn't allow many places for kids to stand & wait for the school bus... especially the older kids who stand out in the dark waiting for the buses. So, with the 2-hour delay, it was daylight for all kids waiting, and the buses could clearly see them.

However, the bus stop isn't an issue for OUR boys because mom is too much of a wimp to stand out in the cold most mornings... so I've taken to driving them to school in the morning! Aside from not having to brave the cold, everyone gets to sleep in just a little bit longer. Yay for more sleep!!

Here's to more snow! ;)

Jenni

It's OUT!

Yesterday, Jan. 16th, was the big day! They finally took out my gallbladder - and it wasn't any too soon.

The procedure went right as planned, and now my abdomen looks like a pin cushion! I have 4 incision sites, and 4 big band-aids.

I was able to come home around dinnertime yesterday & have pretty much slept until now! For once in my life, I didn't get sick from the anesthetic, and that is helping me so much recovery-wise.

Thanks for all of the well-wishes. I certainly appreciate them!
Jenni

Gallbladder - UGH!!

There once was a girl who inherited some bum body parts. No wait, that's not the way to start a story...

Let's try again.

There once was a girl who thought all of her non-essential body parts would be gone by the time she was 40...

Okay, skip the story. Cut to the chase. I have to have my gallbladder removed - plain & simple! I've been having attacks off & on for about 2 years now. It's one of those that you think about while you're having one, then forget about them once they're gone.

A few months ago, I started having gallbladder attacks quite often. I finally mentioned them to my general practitioner last month. After examining me, she sent me for an ultrasound. I had it done on New Years Eve morning. It was determined that I have gallstones. Or as Mike likes to say, "Jenni has a lot of gall..." Either way, my gallbladder is full of it!

I met with a surgeon yesterday. He concurred that my gallbladder needs to be removed. He had openings this week, but I couldn't make the moon & stars align quite the way I needed, so we opted for next Friday, Jan. 16th.

My mom is flying in on Thursday to help out, and we're very grateful for that! Mike is sort of in a bind at work; most of our guys are activated/deployed right now, and he's the only guy in his office - so taking time off isn't really an option right now. I won't be able to drive for a week, so having mom here will ensure that the boys will get where they need to be!

So in case you're wondering where my tally of removed non-essential body parts lies; I have no:
1. Tonsils
2. Adenoids
3. Appendix
4. "Girl parts" except for one ovary
5. And as of next Friday, gallbladder

That's the latest here!
Jenni

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009!!!

We had lots of friends over here on New Years Eve this year. It was a lot of food, eating, and game playing!

It was a lot of people - 23, I think was my last count (including kids), but lots of fun was had! The adults decided to try their hand at "Guitar Hero - World Tour". After a few attempts, the little ones felt they needed to show us "oldsters" how it's done! Ryan took over on the drums so we could all get through a song!

I had gotten noise makers for the kids -- and totally underestimated their ability in annoying everyone. ;o) Some of our friends had gotten "poppers" for the kids to set off... but since they set off confetti, we suggested the kids go outside. Our back yard has a nice coating of streamers now - but it looks really festive!

We all watched "Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve" and watched the ball drop. I think that was just an excuse for the kids to blow on those silly noise makers! I will definitely think twice before buying those again! ;o)

5...4...3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Ryan & his friend, Eliot (above)
My friend Tammy & me...My friend Gwen & I... Mike thought he needed to blow his noisemaker in my face. Thanks, hon!

The party was finished by about 1 a.m., and everyone was so ready for bed!! We're getting so old!! ;o)

We hope you all had a wonderful New Years Eve & here's to a GREAT 2009!!

Love, Jenni