tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39306202578427202022024-03-05T15:52:30.975-05:00 We Could Not Ask for MoreAimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.comBlogger249125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-75077276725457280282013-12-06T10:41:00.000-05:002013-12-06T10:41:07.140-05:00Play House Bouncers!So, it's been a while since I've posted here. What can I say, life just keeps getting busier with Drew and Gee-off's continued involvement in rec and travel soccer, school parties and activities, homework, gymnastics for Carter and Brenna, outside therapy for Carter, regularly scheduled, frequent specialist appointments for Emily and more substitute jobs for me!<div>
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We need some extra fun right here at home I think!</div>
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I'd love a <a href="http://www.playhousebouncers.com/bouncehouses.aspx">Bounce House</a> like this one from from Play House Bouncers! They're giving one away to a blogger, so I had to take my chance. I've entered as many of their recent contests as I've seen on their Facebook page. We came really close a few contests ago where all of my awesome friends and family liked my comment on their FB page about how great it would be to have a Bounce House at home so Emily could enjoy it with her siblings, away from the crowds of the local bounce place. I'm pretty sure we had the 2nd highest likes, but alas, we did not win.</div>
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So, why not try again? Check out this cool Pirate Bounce House!</div>
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I don't think it'll fit under the Christmas tree, but I'll sure try! *wink*</div>
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Aimee</div>
Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-89002739935446162482012-10-25T20:18:00.000-04:002012-10-25T20:31:44.929-04:00Soccer Coach... Who knew?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I asked all the kids at the first practice; “Why are you here?” They all answered that they love soccer or they wanted to play soccer, but none of them told me they were here to win. Everything we’d done since then has been rooted to that concept. Our practices are action packed and fun, and our games are all played in the spirit of good sportsmanship.
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It all started last spring, when Drew was chosen to play on a travel soccer team in town. Drew is skilled at soccer, but was clearly one of the weaker players for that team. He was smaller, younger, and less mature than the rest of the team. In his defense, he was playing “up”, which in soccer lingo means he was too young for the team age, but he was allowed to play with the team because the team didn’t otherwise have enough players to field a team and there was no team for his age group.
Drew enjoyed the competition, and practiced twice a week with the team, but game after game, found himself on the sidelines watching for more than 85% of the games. This was never an issue for him, but it didn’t make sense to me. I felt that he needed to be on the field if he was to improve and I hoped that as the season progressed, so would he. At the end of the season, it was obvious Drew would not have a place to play the following season, and like any other “Papa Bear”, I had to look out for my cub.
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Aimee suggested that I step up and volunteer to coach the nonexistent team that was needed for Drew’s age group and start recruiting players so we could field a competitive team. I reviewed the pros and cons and although I had serious reservations, I knew three things that helped me realize I would be an effective soccer coach.
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1.As a teacher, I know how to treat children fairly despite dramatic differences in work ethic, ability, and motivation.
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2.As a camp counselor, I’ve “coached” hundreds of kids over the last 20 years.
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3.As a parent, I could never forgive myself for being afraid to step out of my comfort zone for the sake of Drew’s well-being.
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The cons were mostly the fear of public scrutiny if I was a bad coach. I generally only do things I’m good at doing to preserve my self esteem. I couldn’t be a failure in my son’s eyes. So, I listened to all the jokes from my friends, read a ton about soccer, talked a lot of soccer with friends with experience, and took the plunge.
It did mean some things around our house would need to change. After school tutoring would have to stop, we’d need to adjust Emily’s nursing hours on weekends, and our schedules would be changed to allow soccer to become a priority.
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I now own more soccer shorts than any other middle aged, overweight, non athlete that I know. I have thirteen boys and girls who love soccer and habitually attend our practices and games. Miraculously, they play equal time despite the societal pressure to win, win, win! Maybe that might cost us a victory here and there, but all of them love soccer and are happy to be on our team. I have two fantastic assistant coaches who have been so helpful and all the parents that have been so supportive. But mostly, I have Aimee, who encouraged me to try something new, and has been so understanding and helpful as I took on this new challenge.
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I always thought I was doing the noble thing to help Drew. I never intended for it to be another source of pride for me. The most important reason I love this team is that not one of my players complains when we lose, brag when we win, or gripe about playing time. Of course not, they are here because they love to play soccer.
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<br />Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-83826675355494253752012-03-11T09:47:00.008-04:002012-03-19T06:30:50.821-04:00Wingbo for Emily<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAnh-0AMlNLMu_gQW-dUdcbNzAjkvxRs12tyhrB5_2dwT2X3bCPqYKxrYQlqp8U-28rp5UPnVE_j0XConXSi0rcTQHktR0V-FIXaUb_hi4qXFnbP3jDFgi5H4Hw_M1Rmsxkl3j9Llb5Zd/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAnh-0AMlNLMu_gQW-dUdcbNzAjkvxRs12tyhrB5_2dwT2X3bCPqYKxrYQlqp8U-28rp5UPnVE_j0XConXSi0rcTQHktR0V-FIXaUb_hi4qXFnbP3jDFgi5H4Hw_M1Rmsxkl3j9Llb5Zd/s200/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718642986853862578" /></a><br />Aimee found a product on facebook called Wingbo. They make a swing that aims to improve tummy time and we are hoping to win it in a contest this month on the Wingbo Facebook page. The benefits of this swing as therapy for Emily are countless, and it is certain to keep her happy. <br /><br />The description on their website, <a href="www.wingbousa.com ">www.wingbousa.com </a>includes the following:<br />"Wingbo has benefits for special needs infants and young children, in particular those with developmental delays. It can be a therapeutic tool for use in institutions and practices as well as privately in homes. Wingbo is recommended for use by pediatricians, physical therapists and early intervention specialists. Wingbo is recommended for developmental delays."<br /><br />Visual impairments, low muscle tone, sensory integration, and acid reflux are also among the list of benefits from using this swing, all areas for which Emily is treated daily. I also think it is great that they even have a special pad for children with a G-Tube, so the pressure from her button will not irritate her belly and she could actually be in the swing during a feeding (which is more often than not).<br /><br />The biggest reason we want this swing is because Emily has limited things she can do here at home, so her routine tends to be pretty set once she gets home from school. Sit in her tumbleform chair, roll on a blanket, cuddle with us, or lay in her crib. It would be nice to add something else... especially since her awake time tends to be in the evenings.<br /><br />So here is where YOU come in... <br /> It is so easy, click the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/wingbo/124733957558947">link</a>, "like" wingbo, and comment "Aimee Magnan Gollihur sent me". Emily gets one more chance to win for each unique person that posts a comment. Thanks so much! If you shared this blog post on your facebook wall, your friends could also support this opportunity for our daughter, Emily, who would absolutely love the Wingbo swing. The winner will be selected March 22nd.<br /> Thanks for your help.Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-47590319828833955382012-02-06T09:00:00.000-05:002012-02-06T09:00:31.980-05:00What's going on?I have neglected this little blog for too long. I think it's due to a combination of several things; Emily's health has been fairly stable, Drew is more heavily involved in extra-curricular activities, Carter and Brenna have given up napping, we moved, I started my photography business, Gee-off is extra busy with school, and, well, Facebook! ;)<div><br />
</div><div>I only get about 2 1/2 hours each morning to myself while Carter and Brenna are at school. Most of that time is for chores and errands, showering, coffee . . . so I have to keep this short. But, did you catch that?? I get 2 1/2 hours every weekday morning to myself!!!!!!! Yipppeeeeeeee!!!!! :)</div><div><br />
</div><div>Okay, the update.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Let's break it down.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Emily has been doing pretty well. She is now in her second year of Pre-K at her school and loving it! She stays awake most of the day now and is happier while she is there. Developmentally, she is making some progress. She is holding small toys, she can even "see" a toy if it is held a few inches from her face and will reach out to grab it. She makes "talky" noises, but no real speech yet. She laughs a lot. She rolls everywhere, and is now getting up on her knees and forearms and trying to crawl! Go Em!! She is still on 100% tube feeds, but likes to get drops of water from her syringes and she gets sips of water from a special cup and straw at school. Medically, she has been very stable, except her seizures. She still has infantile spasms and they have been increasing a bit lately. We also think we've been seeing something that looks like it could be a new kind of seizure as well. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Here is one of her most recent pics.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7Uy99HaHx4XQBt3WfyFiphtLrrF5j2BWjaIPoGv5bp0IDHPn4LL1KFw23Dx87r6GjRFNLci1nrIBfkkm8Ko6qIkZEzLqlb7KZos4mFXT3zBPPHers87Rtq7s5UVyJOiN-ZK8ELmGBcU/s1600/EmilyStudio1hnp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7Uy99HaHx4XQBt3WfyFiphtLrrF5j2BWjaIPoGv5bp0IDHPn4LL1KFw23Dx87r6GjRFNLci1nrIBfkkm8Ko6qIkZEzLqlb7KZos4mFXT3zBPPHers87Rtq7s5UVyJOiN-ZK8ELmGBcU/s320/EmilyStudio1hnp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
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</div><div>Drew is in 2nd grade and doing great! He has been to the orthodontist over the last year because his adult teeth have been coming in super tight and very crooked. He does need braces, but we are holding off just a little bit longer. He loves soccer and played this fall. Then he tried out for the travel team and made it! And then he was asked to play on an indoor soccer team as well. He is big into video games and has a best friend that he likes to hang out with all the time. He's really a big boy now. :)</div><div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Carter and Brenna are in Pre-K now and in separate classes. They are both doing great academically, but still need to work on things like sharing and playing nicely with others. :) Carter is doing great with his OT and PT and it looks like he'll be able to transition to regular Kindergarten next year. They are very active and rarely nap, but they love to play with each other so they usually keep each other entertained pretty well . . . when they're not fighting!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In November, we moved to our new home. We decided we need to sell our old home because it wasn't accessible enough for Emily. All of the bedrooms and bathrooms were upstairs and she has to be carried. We looked into renovating, but buying turned out to be a much better option for us. Our new home is just about perfect, everyone has their own bedroom. Well, I still have to share!! ;) Our room and Emily's room are on the main floor, as well as an accessible bathroom for her too. It is great and really feels like home already, though our first home will always hold sentimental value for us. It was our very first real home and where we lived when all of our children were born. Ahh, memories. :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That's all for now!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div> </div></div>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-86053508282818887492011-05-15T17:13:00.011-04:002011-05-15T17:43:19.258-04:00Emily - From the perspective of her 7-year-old brother<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hWidaH4PJofpUr_hROyjkIu0Mey-_PSd34kywyqw-IY0OnAsP-F_zcsQCE4CH5tynepVsPETS6kicfaQjb15oQAHNaFkgmnVI98gfjRMS_QNZpEnEjnoxwlyjrcM3t3unUtu_tZssIEV/s1600/IMG_0077.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hWidaH4PJofpUr_hROyjkIu0Mey-_PSd34kywyqw-IY0OnAsP-F_zcsQCE4CH5tynepVsPETS6kicfaQjb15oQAHNaFkgmnVI98gfjRMS_QNZpEnEjnoxwlyjrcM3t3unUtu_tZssIEV/s320/IMG_0077.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607060665533580034" /></a><br />We met with the Child Study Team and Emily's teacher this week. She'll be returning to the same school again next year and is eligible for a program in July/August as well. We have seen tremendous improvement this year. <br /><br />Back in October, Drew spent a few nights writing a book about Emily. He chose what he wanted to write and we picked/took photos to match. I don't know why we never posted it, but we think it will be a wonderful keepsake for all of us to see Emily through the eyes of Drew years from now. He was only 6 when he wrote it, but turned 7 soon after. <br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzNp1Hn_e7I3BAU8OVuj2lRBHrmrj1MYsiHzHoY_jbWhyphenhyphenWnost8rCrSZqG3Xy1cDOABy52l1HdQG20WAIM45T6GLgA1zP2t7Hlj6dndJXStrujCH_0baabI7UaqA0Wqs-XmWnC-o3umZb/s1600/IMG_0105.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzNp1Hn_e7I3BAU8OVuj2lRBHrmrj1MYsiHzHoY_jbWhyphenhyphenWnost8rCrSZqG3Xy1cDOABy52l1HdQG20WAIM45T6GLgA1zP2t7Hlj6dndJXStrujCH_0baabI7UaqA0Wqs-XmWnC-o3umZb/s320/IMG_0105.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607058416671792386" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6F0xmFls3XhZWoEhxA_rrlwyQrPd0U1rtkBp-4hO_-fr4L56Os9uaJU3PtasKQzmx-IgvyTYYeCniM7eox7J3X3Nl_ZJp7mb9Cwdl8GevVRgsNbslpy5M6uKaqYXWdxs5sDJ3d6WHr6El/s1600/IMG_0106.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6F0xmFls3XhZWoEhxA_rrlwyQrPd0U1rtkBp-4hO_-fr4L56Os9uaJU3PtasKQzmx-IgvyTYYeCniM7eox7J3X3Nl_ZJp7mb9Cwdl8GevVRgsNbslpy5M6uKaqYXWdxs5sDJ3d6WHr6El/s320/IMG_0106.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607058412165316930" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCm5UNClr9cPf4pM0jeIrVOUT09N-UMd-NNYRgPD7uIjpUULXXdmu-sIIJER-VgMEKenx_USerIulqmZFTonVgasETPjwfwMrIYQFvobun_al4cIAHSPndCuA1PfH7dlyRhq8rUzcyTAf_/s1600/IMG_0107.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCm5UNClr9cPf4pM0jeIrVOUT09N-UMd-NNYRgPD7uIjpUULXXdmu-sIIJER-VgMEKenx_USerIulqmZFTonVgasETPjwfwMrIYQFvobun_al4cIAHSPndCuA1PfH7dlyRhq8rUzcyTAf_/s320/IMG_0107.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607058408487961890" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbzQcywqBUb55qdBNijla8R8kyMybNT7OfuTR8sIwTzaskw-qq2_3LT88K-xue6HQaPXAVRWavlheP_sMWEbkUzZWzK16pAjjWytyxH3MlTiKcwAIY33bX9BG3rk60iseGVhUZafAe_IZ/s1600/IMG_0108.JPG"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1E7uB1tDyYojSIlT97noBTvxLx2j9t660ehPlzxqDv92VmnmPEscTC2Q35RlMhcX5Y3JvP2d17ywLbN85b5dAt3p_SZupdfvq9gwcz1AMbpF-aWThHQLjH-lnYOVawpadOXTCe8PGLi4v/s320/IMG_0116.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607057665943446962" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE4IWruG4sh69hNOVrol0azr6lvqia9_Umcoipuz-QWjkyLk64_44Hqo4YhiYkVS9V3iFaZN0J1vrnNAesDOnEfOlUvAIzaAirfbr1lwfD6qM9dm_2W_XmgjDKBnZDL4AOdbHdKAIqdIK_/s1600/IMG_0117.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE4IWruG4sh69hNOVrol0azr6lvqia9_Umcoipuz-QWjkyLk64_44Hqo4YhiYkVS9V3iFaZN0J1vrnNAesDOnEfOlUvAIzaAirfbr1lwfD6qM9dm_2W_XmgjDKBnZDL4AOdbHdKAIqdIK_/s320/IMG_0117.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607057660185467362" /></a>Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-6954608066558977852011-04-28T20:30:00.001-04:002011-04-28T20:38:15.376-04:00A new adventurePhotography has become more than just a hobby for me lately, it's become a passion. I've always loved taking pictures, in fact, when I was younger I loved an older camera my Dad owned - with it's hard leathery case and a loud "click" when you pressed the shutter button. I used to pretend to be a photographer or a reporter back then, but I really remember loving how that big and clunky that old camera felt when I held it.<br />
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I've starting doing informal photo sessions for family and friends and I'm really enjoying it. Now I'm hoping to take it to the next level and actually make it a little business. I'm trying to set aside my self-doubts and just go for it!<br />
<br />
Tonight, I've been brainstorming names for my business. I could go with Aimee Gollihur Photography or Aimee Lynn Photography, but I'm just not thrilled with the sound of it. Many others incorporate other things I love like music and my family; HeartSong Photography, Fourever Photography, Caboodles Photography, All 4 Love Photography (too Color Me Badd!), and Quartet Photography. Others ideas were Snap Happy and Ever After Photography.<br />
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I don't want to be too cutesy, or too formal. I also don't want it to seem limited to one kind of subject because I hope to do babies, children, families and maybe even events like birthday parties. No weddings though . . . yet!<br />
<br />
I just love this one that just came to me. <br />
<br />
Live. Laugh. Photograph.<br />
But it's taken!! As are many of my other ideas. :(<br />
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Still thinking about it . . .Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-20088949133057463162011-03-16T20:05:00.012-04:002011-03-16T20:36:31.526-04:00St. Patrick’s Day Eve Decathlon for 3 Year Old SupremacyYou read that right. Today while eating dinner, Drew explained that Carter and Brenna were going to have a heavy lifting competition after dinner to see who is stronger. Their crazy parents allowed the event to become a fun-filled after-dinner activity to focus everyone’s energy rather than continuing what everyone was doing before dinner (being cranky).<br /><br />Our initial event, <strong>Hula Hoop Jumping</strong> came down to a tie due to the limits of my analog stopwatch and no clear-cut winner. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXXscRnYkYNjrS_xowoyttEHiM21uakGnMNxGwPvR4IeC5cgy7ju-O_P_UmlQLZYUaTWTG8GAwdObi_pb3sFf-g6hIZsuceBQUOv4UGSq2MORxC2dDRJdhYnlokCZrkSQwv3piUJvaLfV/s1600/IMG_0005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXXscRnYkYNjrS_xowoyttEHiM21uakGnMNxGwPvR4IeC5cgy7ju-O_P_UmlQLZYUaTWTG8GAwdObi_pb3sFf-g6hIZsuceBQUOv4UGSq2MORxC2dDRJdhYnlokCZrkSQwv3piUJvaLfV/s320/IMG_0005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584834828297498066" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgJC3JsaWKhVFPHQQK7eDRBus7K9bm5srrDNUeZRMh5OYlLiwyfOuD6ij8ALUzdwiU-heYpkm7hs342mNXzTzyonwEojQzzTMCZ45frziNFuovveQYJX-5FWbvLY1jnUqpAd9QEFbZhcN/s1600/IMG_0004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgJC3JsaWKhVFPHQQK7eDRBus7K9bm5srrDNUeZRMh5OYlLiwyfOuD6ij8ALUzdwiU-heYpkm7hs342mNXzTzyonwEojQzzTMCZ45frziNFuovveQYJX-5FWbvLY1jnUqpAd9QEFbZhcN/s320/IMG_0004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584834822379826738" /></a><br /><br />Although the <strong>10 Yard Dash</strong> was a photo finish, we still don’t know who won, because Carter was busy tackling Drew at the finish line. Apparently, the 9 yard dash is all Carter can handle before falling over.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlK-RjmuPEy-0pcoTaxZqcmJ-gBrCFWFdkyJc_pf0yliP8CjVTPDWVEsnPDzeh1Jkjq4dchCoFG35j7azCb39cdtwED407mcntUDh4FDY0yVl6e_KdN9GSO8LTxxYN122PvRAg_JkXU3Nl/s1600/IMG_0011.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlK-RjmuPEy-0pcoTaxZqcmJ-gBrCFWFdkyJc_pf0yliP8CjVTPDWVEsnPDzeh1Jkjq4dchCoFG35j7azCb39cdtwED407mcntUDh4FDY0yVl6e_KdN9GSO8LTxxYN122PvRAg_JkXU3Nl/s320/IMG_0011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584834832130009554" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Heavy Lifting</strong>, which ended up resulting in a victory by Brenna, also won the ROTFL award. Watching toddlers trying to figure out how to lift a rocking horse over their head is more entertaining than most prime time tv.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJeA6OWBd_tsbc8AuWzTNigUQ2dvOYBSSxuoIK11Ws1m5TOcOObmwpzGnr5pmlkd8UQqEreglCNbtP7mP-7StRMwu7XvX2Z5ApO633aVhEArL-fam7xu9IM_z90Gf0yZxx1lz8Pm8K_70/s1600/IMG_0018.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJeA6OWBd_tsbc8AuWzTNigUQ2dvOYBSSxuoIK11Ws1m5TOcOObmwpzGnr5pmlkd8UQqEreglCNbtP7mP-7StRMwu7XvX2Z5ApO633aVhEArL-fam7xu9IM_z90Gf0yZxx1lz8Pm8K_70/s320/IMG_0018.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584834838991307522" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VfMBfF2aR9RR8spiv7s-WmnIm9TtCX18lAHyTsJbUlxxomZOjzjHSD4XacPEhgn1_2CQVz_Bmx7N-BKrfCic032sgcTeY83xyIDUcTpv0KHk9x5RlJtexJF-Llw-kQKv8T4-6P3ZbUsm/s1600/IMG_0013.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VfMBfF2aR9RR8spiv7s-WmnIm9TtCX18lAHyTsJbUlxxomZOjzjHSD4XacPEhgn1_2CQVz_Bmx7N-BKrfCic032sgcTeY83xyIDUcTpv0KHk9x5RlJtexJF-Llw-kQKv8T4-6P3ZbUsm/s320/IMG_0013.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584835784969919314" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIAPGBoECzdiufWSD3TiQu7KMBNiptLxMgMCfAmyhJfWho1km-TZowbErqyzwQsia3f0NdEP_BqDXBhP0pVF8Fy8temyBHxmN4c-2dZJvtxyXyTX9IS7bm20dt_qDROyyDf5c1eu4g9iu/s1600/IMG_0014.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIAPGBoECzdiufWSD3TiQu7KMBNiptLxMgMCfAmyhJfWho1km-TZowbErqyzwQsia3f0NdEP_BqDXBhP0pVF8Fy8temyBHxmN4c-2dZJvtxyXyTX9IS7bm20dt_qDROyyDf5c1eu4g9iu/s320/IMG_0014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584835778925351234" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSWsMJ391G7gky4dHwjzsU-L3g-4M-dhyZdgl6e7-6yXwZUNRQPqradTe3zsDcilsPvz6umunDBEwuq0ChfcI46ZR6U8eY7yDhCbhSqPx_aV6WsdI7n5NuasIMP42uyLqTjNX-AAEvkIq/s1600/IMG_0015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSWsMJ391G7gky4dHwjzsU-L3g-4M-dhyZdgl6e7-6yXwZUNRQPqradTe3zsDcilsPvz6umunDBEwuq0ChfcI46ZR6U8eY7yDhCbhSqPx_aV6WsdI7n5NuasIMP42uyLqTjNX-AAEvkIq/s320/IMG_0015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584835778431945314" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwkZWnIpDacxny_njfOhOjpr42RdjordR-rBGtPg8WGMdzb5SZkGexKb6NDWwew7x7mo1YW8BN4s6Z5iUZwrK2ehk1ucV1V-zhqvlwTEt1WmOUniNCkX2hKQ3mLMPr0yE0UcWHyR80SlS/s1600/IMG_0016.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwkZWnIpDacxny_njfOhOjpr42RdjordR-rBGtPg8WGMdzb5SZkGexKb6NDWwew7x7mo1YW8BN4s6Z5iUZwrK2ehk1ucV1V-zhqvlwTEt1WmOUniNCkX2hKQ3mLMPr0yE0UcWHyR80SlS/s320/IMG_0016.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584835770496984386" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Hoop Hurdles</strong> was the only activity that ended poorly, due to an overzealous seven-year-old in charge of holding hoop #1. We judged it a tie in an effort to move on.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6drjgsp1_0pOE-plFCPX5tiszevLcFSY1JxniZ2K8-4DDEjp8tf6595vPN9Wi49dYQb6FCYdlpc1vKLaJwDS7EYv25MyDpBTTyHzEsom5JyxM2R1YpLKpFgcKVGjgdnwJd4TJ7NjETpNt/s1600/IMG_0025.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6drjgsp1_0pOE-plFCPX5tiszevLcFSY1JxniZ2K8-4DDEjp8tf6595vPN9Wi49dYQb6FCYdlpc1vKLaJwDS7EYv25MyDpBTTyHzEsom5JyxM2R1YpLKpFgcKVGjgdnwJd4TJ7NjETpNt/s320/IMG_0025.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584837232004266146" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Up the Ladder-Down the Slide</strong> was a competitive event. Although Brenna did win the three lap event by a two-second margin (18-20), Carter did show some style when heaving his body across the slide. Perhaps, as a fan favorite, he’ll end up with some endorsements…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrDpqh2msM9kbB5Spq0L33i4f8uh1rRNofpw6VpK5Ez5Txap9ECNBfNisVeTZS5-teW5h6gOYQrJJJgs7Dtrg9HT12sVZGcpR9NsVuuVv-RqQT8P79CuWw5lU8cgjOCvPKjCJdeDyBjmX/s1600/IMG_0026.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrDpqh2msM9kbB5Spq0L33i4f8uh1rRNofpw6VpK5Ez5Txap9ECNBfNisVeTZS5-teW5h6gOYQrJJJgs7Dtrg9HT12sVZGcpR9NsVuuVv-RqQT8P79CuWw5lU8cgjOCvPKjCJdeDyBjmX/s320/IMG_0026.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584837225449677666" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeEzsrUlsI4TBWYHbGwqvgFEukl0RdZMM7tjWQNjb3t3gTVnzhE2Ncl10wyOWAF6RPvS536Lsfc79b5CwLMaNMAz4utGuHp7RJhG25gMgIB38JE0TSDZAqSGnzA39VU2ZB_pwCy2iqGCz/s1600/IMG_0028.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeEzsrUlsI4TBWYHbGwqvgFEukl0RdZMM7tjWQNjb3t3gTVnzhE2Ncl10wyOWAF6RPvS536Lsfc79b5CwLMaNMAz4utGuHp7RJhG25gMgIB38JE0TSDZAqSGnzA39VU2ZB_pwCy2iqGCz/s320/IMG_0028.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584837218519709842" /></a><br /><br /><strong>The Slam Dunk Contest</strong> was less than impressive with neither contestant showing any slam dunk proficiency. After several missed attempts and a few poorly executed finger-rolls, Drew, who demonstrated an impressive jump and dunk in the explanation, was declared the winner.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7UGVkhoF-Y7i3aUBO_4_MNDxZFbRbND5ZlQdn6LeQ4ULkCNU4hiFvo4ABzj2aPCAh1sCJVrs4tP9OWYTQhTodWIV61GfOpwWINfnTyVhawcr1L85h_-FiwxNqACk3byqMRuZRBRLMr9I/s1600/IMG_0030.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7UGVkhoF-Y7i3aUBO_4_MNDxZFbRbND5ZlQdn6LeQ4ULkCNU4hiFvo4ABzj2aPCAh1sCJVrs4tP9OWYTQhTodWIV61GfOpwWINfnTyVhawcr1L85h_-FiwxNqACk3byqMRuZRBRLMr9I/s320/IMG_0030.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584837213680933058" /></a><br /><br /><strong>The Obstacle Course</strong> which combined the rigors of cross-country running, long distance kicking, and an impressive display of automobile pushing ended in a tie, although I do believe Carter would have eeked out a victory if he hadn’t turned back to fix the askew hula hoop.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xXN3kdmXPpsSMKa6aGQNrff_UblF8_Jx_mCiVaMKKP0oE3T93XkWFy5zmnSXTzfj2ToTibrQvntQTRFXJzMWTYpdKoo_ovPEuE2Zr2O6V5xFCDvmsCv8V6ViYTFbGe8MR6SDY6hWwqRP/s1600/IMG_0034.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xXN3kdmXPpsSMKa6aGQNrff_UblF8_Jx_mCiVaMKKP0oE3T93XkWFy5zmnSXTzfj2ToTibrQvntQTRFXJzMWTYpdKoo_ovPEuE2Zr2O6V5xFCDvmsCv8V6ViYTFbGe8MR6SDY6hWwqRP/s320/IMG_0034.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584837211375631986" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9X2GMwCEifM3lT05yYg3J_twAPJQGCqaEUwMZCKcGYNyskfpzHac0E3hmE-4f5KljkCcn3ZtS-o6AhlhqIM_d7UT0jns6mDhr_27hbv0XmRkfLPTYcnvP0PbEKGEqxNuq50NmEXDZ7wI/s1600/IMG_0037.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9X2GMwCEifM3lT05yYg3J_twAPJQGCqaEUwMZCKcGYNyskfpzHac0E3hmE-4f5KljkCcn3ZtS-o6AhlhqIM_d7UT0jns6mDhr_27hbv0XmRkfLPTYcnvP0PbEKGEqxNuq50NmEXDZ7wI/s320/IMG_0037.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584838623567277986" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Py2jpvhArkSJ9ogLBjgt-XR6OuNn72lTTqO0ElqIotDXmr7ZtUPE7wXsl_eA3SJo5ESi5k4-AyatFOI4ewAFpfVVpYKpbG2m3SQYhUGZ_WzffJZHc2RFg_EoeW8Gs9OPNUjEuCd7EMDQ/s1600/IMG_0038.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Py2jpvhArkSJ9ogLBjgt-XR6OuNn72lTTqO0ElqIotDXmr7ZtUPE7wXsl_eA3SJo5ESi5k4-AyatFOI4ewAFpfVVpYKpbG2m3SQYhUGZ_WzffJZHc2RFg_EoeW8Gs9OPNUjEuCd7EMDQ/s320/IMG_0038.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584838618897507730" /></a><br /><br />The <strong>Javelin</strong>, <strong>Shot Put</strong>, and <strong>Discus</strong> events rounded out our big evening. Carter won the Javelin throw by less than an inch, Brenna threw the Shot Put past Carter while his was still being marked, and Carter’s Discus had a 14+ inch lead over Brenna in the final event. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOTlFJaK4IXOO6T9bFSuK1sOyVM9wliWYeciw0tDQeF4tVpDnKmc_QXtH-rV3iiezC45q2ZPLM4X-IVi5cLY6qAP0lMes6WfJr6PoBOF-GLRrE7naSoMA8_UDILZtKNUuJAU-dNTiRb7k/s1600/IMG_0040.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOTlFJaK4IXOO6T9bFSuK1sOyVM9wliWYeciw0tDQeF4tVpDnKmc_QXtH-rV3iiezC45q2ZPLM4X-IVi5cLY6qAP0lMes6WfJr6PoBOF-GLRrE7naSoMA8_UDILZtKNUuJAU-dNTiRb7k/s320/IMG_0040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584838613472100642" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAx96vr9mL3UCEAkXRv4bX9kO5eAK4tJtmy46krHfSl8N4s7UKEaKtQBKXioVvkE1AfiwvldF4xj3jzWRtIOO16lv5BwI2R_EkumIXvQJLyLPb3fCVphZ72dVxzHhZqg_Te6V8ECg3Yl4/s1600/IMG_0043.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAx96vr9mL3UCEAkXRv4bX9kO5eAK4tJtmy46krHfSl8N4s7UKEaKtQBKXioVvkE1AfiwvldF4xj3jzWRtIOO16lv5BwI2R_EkumIXvQJLyLPb3fCVphZ72dVxzHhZqg_Te6V8ECg3Yl4/s320/IMG_0043.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584838609128786770" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8BHy2X04gtyZ-i23U5RFY5kyu0ZyVrThr6Hl-cSz7QyCbL_G9kMjCTPmptodrKeM4EUwV6yUjmHvz_oyRUMXiQk31gi2fvQFK3MxkQTWmnIcr5vdFdoKIgUHC6yBvt4Xx-RcpnhL6Dk97/s1600/IMG_0045.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8BHy2X04gtyZ-i23U5RFY5kyu0ZyVrThr6Hl-cSz7QyCbL_G9kMjCTPmptodrKeM4EUwV6yUjmHvz_oyRUMXiQk31gi2fvQFK3MxkQTWmnIcr5vdFdoKIgUHC6yBvt4Xx-RcpnhL6Dk97/s320/IMG_0045.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584838608666281570" /></a><br /><br />Final score you ask? Clearly, everybody wins here at the HHOMC.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0blotaQihEqqbKVnPJFPikmFUGuEyEHHHqdpOEAt5R39GeW2sQYDwSvL-oAAlB9O423Ats8UfZjEPeWujGBth8Vq4prBw7rwdOhwUiFVEkw4S2NoGLaTeoULbXS-gvS8bPGs03zq-WiBD/s1600/IMG_0020.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0blotaQihEqqbKVnPJFPikmFUGuEyEHHHqdpOEAt5R39GeW2sQYDwSvL-oAAlB9O423Ats8UfZjEPeWujGBth8Vq4prBw7rwdOhwUiFVEkw4S2NoGLaTeoULbXS-gvS8bPGs03zq-WiBD/s320/IMG_0020.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584839606522897650" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2KMFLudPR5f6Uhq3JiJserZP-34G2IyXYqDYuZGTk1HbLMpwE1tec-Lera0uxAi8xt2yEJXViP4_JzAFIMkYvjx__jzVni-R6VoKjATqpufkmDj15_3APeMEXUn6XmawfOBRKupya_Z-B/s1600/IMG_0022.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2KMFLudPR5f6Uhq3JiJserZP-34G2IyXYqDYuZGTk1HbLMpwE1tec-Lera0uxAi8xt2yEJXViP4_JzAFIMkYvjx__jzVni-R6VoKjATqpufkmDj15_3APeMEXUn6XmawfOBRKupya_Z-B/s320/IMG_0022.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584839601891254418" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshgmI13MzkVk6zdoS5qZcfsXeD8JazXx_o4FCy2NbMzcOpxZN52C-O08b4iXnZ_IYF7wb90ObUVzG5bNmnRv0ahbw-wMJCAabsFOaezBHvdv4f7C2UJI_4CtyiM9Z26NfgCvk8-rCvt-b/s1600/IMG_0012.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshgmI13MzkVk6zdoS5qZcfsXeD8JazXx_o4FCy2NbMzcOpxZN52C-O08b4iXnZ_IYF7wb90ObUVzG5bNmnRv0ahbw-wMJCAabsFOaezBHvdv4f7C2UJI_4CtyiM9Z26NfgCvk8-rCvt-b/s320/IMG_0012.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584839613674644466" /></a>Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-87166172765771932512011-02-10T22:35:00.000-05:002011-02-10T22:35:24.153-05:00Happy Valentine's Day Deja Vu?When I came home tonight after running some errands, Gee-off told me he had written a blog post and shared it with me. So sweet!<br />
<br />
Well, it just so happened that a few days ago I had made a smilebox "scrapbook" for him and had it set to send on Saturday (when weg et to go out for our Vday date)!<br />
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While it seems like I was a copycat, I promise, I really had this made already!!! <br />
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I love that we chose some of the same pictures too!<br />
<br />
Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day to the best husband! (And just for the record, it was NOT a fake question!!!)<br />
<br />
<br />
<table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://smilebox.com/play/4d6a49344d5441794f546b3d0d0a&blogview=true&campaign=blog_playback_link" target="_blank"><img alt="Click to play this Smilebox scrapbook" height="303" src="http://smilebox.com/snap/4d6a49344d5441794f546b3d0d0a.jpg" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;" width="386" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/?partner=facebook&campaign=blog_snapshot" target="_blank"><img alt="Create your own scrapbook - Powered by Smilebox" height="46" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmileboxSmall.gif" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;" width="386" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td align="center"><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/scrapbooks.html" target="_blank">Scrapbook design</a> customized with Smilebox</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-57728728899128020172011-02-10T18:28:00.012-05:002011-02-10T20:38:33.009-05:00Happy Valentine's Day<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rm4c_Wo_sP1AEsnMN0X-vQXTVx2yjKZgPiJ2ldNuwtDU7Ktg_S5sal1N2_IrHurFRo4xLJCW3ZHTHRm0R9QXDjG5r6tEGW89D3TU6DCgUUV1BzjlOoBXlHcVE3npRVXRwRzsALy7mUFF/s1600/wedding+day+bubbles.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rm4c_Wo_sP1AEsnMN0X-vQXTVx2yjKZgPiJ2ldNuwtDU7Ktg_S5sal1N2_IrHurFRo4xLJCW3ZHTHRm0R9QXDjG5r6tEGW89D3TU6DCgUUV1BzjlOoBXlHcVE3npRVXRwRzsALy7mUFF/s320/wedding+day+bubbles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572207900406788738" /></a><br /><br />As Valentine’s Day approaches, I think back to the days when I was courting Aimee and how much I envisioned spending the rest of my life with her. I met Aimee on my very first day as a transfer student to Rowan University. I still remember the sweatshirt she was wearing, her gentle smile, and her beautiful red hair. She verified that I was indeed in the right classroom — after having a short exchange of introductions, I walked away, hoping to eventually build a friendship with the beautiful woman who, unbeknownst to anyone, would be my wife in three short years. <br /><br />I remember being disappointed to learn soon after that Aimee was already seeing someone, but years later I realized that it was essential for our eventual relationship. I never put up any fronts or tried to impress, we were merely classmates, so I could just be myself. Aimee was so genuine and welcoming to me, I have to think the barrier of her being “spoken for” was to my benefit, because I had no reason to think that my actions would change her feelings and she only ever knew the “real” me.<br /><br />The following fall, several key unplanned events occurred that resulted in seeing Aimee a few days in a row, and a trusted friend learned from both of us that there was mutual interest. I still remember going to campus on a day when I had no classes, hoping to bump into Aimee and perhaps work up the courage to ask her out. I never did spot her, but when she called me out of the blue to ask me a made up question about a class she was taking, I knocked an entire shelf over in my closet, trying to find my notes. During my avalanche, I distinctly remember my very sad attempt at asking Aimee to dinner. Since her intention was to ask me out anyway, she made it easy for me, and our story officially began… <br /><br />To me, it was hard to imagine a girl so wonderful might be my girlfriend, much less become my wife. Aimee is smart, talented, beautiful, caring, funny, understanding, creative, and beautiful. Who could ask for more? She helped me to realize that I also have some pretty good qualities too, and I’m not embarrassed to say that she brings them out of me like no one else ever has. And if you noticed I wrote beautiful twice when describing Aimee, It was intentional — She still takes my breath away.<br /><br />Fast-forward through a thousand sweet kisses, an unforgettable engagement, a beautiful wedding ceremony, a cute little apartment, a teeny-tiny shack on the outskirts of town, our first new home. New challenges — new solutions — a real team approach. As we have grown, we’ve grown together, learning new responsibilities and accepting sad realities. Realizing a combined optimism to get through every unexpected turn, we have weathered storms we never anticipated, always emerging together and happily enjoying our greatest blessings hand-in-hand. <br /><br />Valentine’s Day — a day when we ask to be loved, and we share that same love to those we care for — I’m proud to say that I don’t need a holiday to remind me.<br /><br />Aimee, I’m so glad you’re my Valentine.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Pcn-js6CeIBYAHnLhvqDQWBoHUXgCVy-LJust22LGCObgWaHEWBlcW_zb3hyphenhyphenE_0WtQ6gghqUBWFBYERMgzfj0k6JkNWqnTQAmB4b9fxI-SJ7JVWcUN2g6EEeVtQKiDdi4O8-O7KHN2RK/s1600/wedding2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 277px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Pcn-js6CeIBYAHnLhvqDQWBoHUXgCVy-LJust22LGCObgWaHEWBlcW_zb3hyphenhyphenE_0WtQ6gghqUBWFBYERMgzfj0k6JkNWqnTQAmB4b9fxI-SJ7JVWcUN2g6EEeVtQKiDdi4O8-O7KHN2RK/s320/wedding2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572207902588747922" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQLicsCdM4nNSgCubNTOwTTm5fZAenp2EYLHouy4Pu-3WG9UuHn4m8Wqlxix_qHUSmyXcpbBscjltjwDFGFTKd1XlbgC0L_l0sVWxLx2ckP9JgmoarLLZugI_wFknD7khQdk9iR-SDo4Y/s1600/000_0018.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQLicsCdM4nNSgCubNTOwTTm5fZAenp2EYLHouy4Pu-3WG9UuHn4m8Wqlxix_qHUSmyXcpbBscjltjwDFGFTKd1XlbgC0L_l0sVWxLx2ckP9JgmoarLLZugI_wFknD7khQdk9iR-SDo4Y/s320/000_0018.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572207679361038130" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivt54B_y-nyl43lABfV8LN4dUrlHPuNYbXDgiMQf4-fedEBlafiru-fVwranIDWVO_P26YiRPefuwGHewqpwxsMEBSFkzcFIP-FOPHnToSdNoZb2lrDxAIETIT7ZUNp2qofxYsTEYTFY5g/s1600/000_0169.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivt54B_y-nyl43lABfV8LN4dUrlHPuNYbXDgiMQf4-fedEBlafiru-fVwranIDWVO_P26YiRPefuwGHewqpwxsMEBSFkzcFIP-FOPHnToSdNoZb2lrDxAIETIT7ZUNp2qofxYsTEYTFY5g/s320/000_0169.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572207681366252722" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtq-liU7luVardDVqxtQ7TwxTjrmjilC8Z4zcGVRfnMKDa0c5Fx4JU-VWNxt0qUe0b0Yjt5pUl3xHTlbIRPAmRQRt5vG95njz2dJlbiTOQGDw646G6JXtsrrcBGZ5bU0NoFwYythaDkbA/s1600/snow+and+museum+043.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtq-liU7luVardDVqxtQ7TwxTjrmjilC8Z4zcGVRfnMKDa0c5Fx4JU-VWNxt0qUe0b0Yjt5pUl3xHTlbIRPAmRQRt5vG95njz2dJlbiTOQGDw646G6JXtsrrcBGZ5bU0NoFwYythaDkbA/s320/snow+and+museum+043.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572207894829684370" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjwirOb4sTeZRnhlOqDQgVQVXbgUdocRxtrKrasVPOIG2HCWDfXhGh9pQcjxhu55c2ryxDhKYWcEpacH01YR9YvLx1MXsAbTrtDA4xdWlXLyZoKPE5EDK4ph2waplTTXIXCZgvTQZebGc/s1600/Nov27-05+045.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjwirOb4sTeZRnhlOqDQgVQVXbgUdocRxtrKrasVPOIG2HCWDfXhGh9pQcjxhu55c2ryxDhKYWcEpacH01YR9YvLx1MXsAbTrtDA4xdWlXLyZoKPE5EDK4ph2waplTTXIXCZgvTQZebGc/s320/Nov27-05+045.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572207890934364146" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX93ON11wAdksqmuH1RWRNDCddLA6R38aTUqcOD68x3sRskwjg9a8V6klRkvDPd5Gi-DqoGfWuXvQ4QRn-HYHdnXTc-Uk_RuLea2sReQU94KFYx8V4-GLs9VOzN0WuTYDq0qJiX0AyTcJu/s1600/BBCFamily.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX93ON11wAdksqmuH1RWRNDCddLA6R38aTUqcOD68x3sRskwjg9a8V6klRkvDPd5Gi-DqoGfWuXvQ4QRn-HYHdnXTc-Uk_RuLea2sReQU94KFYx8V4-GLs9VOzN0WuTYDq0qJiX0AyTcJu/s320/BBCFamily.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572207684824751858" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio6uU4vzYQ0jsGNeug7Tw6SmPZKJERjSIUeV5bVIZRG_8s0rij8kDSFBCwQ1tCWeRMxLiXINRPxq2gYSBJIHNxve0eP-c5eJxLm2XWGnNdo9xZ7wHONrqkBlSLK_dOJupi53v7NsI_yxP2/s1600/pirate1+-+Copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio6uU4vzYQ0jsGNeug7Tw6SmPZKJERjSIUeV5bVIZRG_8s0rij8kDSFBCwQ1tCWeRMxLiXINRPxq2gYSBJIHNxve0eP-c5eJxLm2XWGnNdo9xZ7wHONrqkBlSLK_dOJupi53v7NsI_yxP2/s320/pirate1+-+Copy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572207890690666786" /></a><br /><br /><em><strong>“You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.” </strong></em> -<strong>Desmond Tutu</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQfLjSY1XmE1eYKsmnUbxNgeEsR7jAmaaJiuNm0i72PhdSKRrCVb3D2kyggEiF3tN2-hBTHtCvlx8S5GKnSgBiBhc9nzpNsQf3WX-2qR_yQc4XgtnJ8oczmng1pbXA9vxZSFWgLhlKiB2/s1600/Fall+family+edited.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQfLjSY1XmE1eYKsmnUbxNgeEsR7jAmaaJiuNm0i72PhdSKRrCVb3D2kyggEiF3tN2-hBTHtCvlx8S5GKnSgBiBhc9nzpNsQf3WX-2qR_yQc4XgtnJ8oczmng1pbXA9vxZSFWgLhlKiB2/s320/Fall+family+edited.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572210490216519554" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote>Looking in your eyes, seeing all I need <br />Everything you are, is everything to me <br /><br />And these are the moments I know heaven must exist <br />And these are the moments, I know all I need is this <br />I have all I've waited for… And I could not ask for more…</blockquote>Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-5293085632956066442011-01-30T19:02:00.006-05:002011-01-30T19:09:24.905-05:00A Vocabulary Lesson…<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg173vziIdP9DAU465XBmokXoDbIlGR-pR-XXLoP77jVxT9W00Xj_niK9jY5BZ13wu2l8sbRf0iyWUfdDra8Riubff-kWNu-a5oukrl8GR-SsAo_cOt2m3ghht3SoCX0AU1C940ZJ_-Vb4N/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg173vziIdP9DAU465XBmokXoDbIlGR-pR-XXLoP77jVxT9W00Xj_niK9jY5BZ13wu2l8sbRf0iyWUfdDra8Riubff-kWNu-a5oukrl8GR-SsAo_cOt2m3ghht3SoCX0AU1C940ZJ_-Vb4N/s320/001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568135077552355570" /></a><br /><br />We have a few catch phrases that don’t make sense elsewhere, but have very specific meanings here at our house. I’d like to take a few moments to share…<br /><br /><strong>HHOMC-</strong> Our only acronym, and coined by my father in reference to our house: Hammonton House Of Many Children. Ex. <em>As planned, the whole family will meet at the HHOMC for lunch.</em><br /><br /><strong>Shore Leave-</strong> An afternoon or evening alone and free of child-rearing responsibilities usually used for shopping in peace and quiet. Ex. <em>Aimee spent her shore leave scouring AC Moore for discount scrapbook supplies.</em><br /><br /><strong>Carter-safe-</strong> A product not containing peanuts (and until recently, eggs). Ex. <em>We can’t buy that cookie mix. It isn’t Carter-safe. </em><br /><br /><strong>28 cents-</strong> The average cost of a pull-up diaper, usually used when a child wakes up dry from naptime, and the pull-up can be reused at bedtime. Ex. <em>You did a great job using the potty. You just saved us 28 cents!</em><br /><strong>Spin For It?- </strong>An opportunity to allow the “Wheel of Responsibility” to determine which parent will complete a particular task. Mostly used for diaper duty and other unpleasant jobs. Ex. <em>Brenna is screaming that she missed the potty. Do you want to spin for it?</em><br /><br /><strong>Jerrel!-</strong> My friend Jerrel, we call his name and raise our fists anytime something goes wrong that can’t be explained. He’s basically our go-to-guy when we want to blame something on someone. This originated this summer, when we found a Boston Red Sox sticker on Drew’s booster seat. I asked Drew where it came from and he responded by raising his fist in the air, while looking up and shouting, “Jerrel”! (Who is a good friend, but is also a noted Phillies Hater)-It should be noted that no one ever took responsibility for defacing the booster seat. Ex. <em>This milk is sour and it isn’t even past the date yet. …JERREL!</em><br /><br /><strong>Nowhere-</strong> Where whining will get you. We say this so often, that the kids will now even answer. Ex. <em>Mom or Dad: “Hey, you know where all that whining is going to get you?” Any kid: “Nowhere!”</em>Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-49887881801780949812011-01-23T20:13:00.003-05:002011-01-23T20:29:32.082-05:00Carter-Bear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizT_H_Mp9wjO__s3fGPDMQ_E7mrZqTj_njoHIrqxNHedg05p70tnzVicKRR1xFzPlyB8cs32JGn2WAQopXR5AJLbFo_kU2pZhgrkKxhKE5AyZqFvGV7K8MU-I85CWQL5o23soyE4Bd_Bw/s1600/IMG_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizT_H_Mp9wjO__s3fGPDMQ_E7mrZqTj_njoHIrqxNHedg05p70tnzVicKRR1xFzPlyB8cs32JGn2WAQopXR5AJLbFo_kU2pZhgrkKxhKE5AyZqFvGV7K8MU-I85CWQL5o23soyE4Bd_Bw/s320/IMG_0041.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Each day, we witness so many subtle changes in the social and emotional growth of our children. They play together much more now and truly care about each other. Carter, however, is clearly showing that he is going to be such a sweet young man. He still has his fair share of tantrums and continues to want things a certain way, or he can’t deal with it, but even some of those things are milder than before.<br />
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Yesterday, I watched Carter approach Emily and her V-Tech KidJamz Studio. It’s really an awesome toy, so we made the rule that the kids could only play it when they were “sharing” with Emily, hoping to encourage more interaction. Carter, rather than taking over, actually was pressing Em’s fingers on the keys, which she loved. They played together like that for more than 5 minutes. <br />
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This afternoon, Brenna was teasing both Drew and I by making her unicorn kiss us. We were both engrossed in the Flyers game and Drew asked Brenna to stop several times before she focused her attention on me. I told her I didn’t like gross unicorn kisses while she continued to sneak kisses at me increasing her giggles. Eventually I nudged her away from me and covered her with blankets, while she continued to giggle away. Realizing that she was beaten, she remained on the floor and called for Aimee. Carter, who was playing on his mini “cup-pooter”, immediately powered down and got up. I asked the little guy if he was going upstairs and he replied matter-of-factly, “No, I’m checking on Brenna.” <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIZfGFnnawsFSa6qdiJAShvjwG3MKLmZ0RhnbJ6ul-KF1jt1nnOpwHVea5hCKHVKPTfxB6EM-QLf0qDlwIhWY68h7ajRdo49Bv_cQMm9pGhbFrdxuT24eS3QOz5TaxEdrQYSnxPOwQZc/s1600/IMG_0204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIZfGFnnawsFSa6qdiJAShvjwG3MKLmZ0RhnbJ6ul-KF1jt1nnOpwHVea5hCKHVKPTfxB6EM-QLf0qDlwIhWY68h7ajRdo49Bv_cQMm9pGhbFrdxuT24eS3QOz5TaxEdrQYSnxPOwQZc/s320/IMG_0204.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
He’s funny too, in his own way. He mostly just repeats a word or sound effect relating to a particular bodily function and his brother and sister laugh out loud. In fact, he was playing Drew’s Leapster game and realized that a sunscreen bottle squirting lotion sounds a lot like, well, you know... He sat there for 2 minutes continually pressing the button and laughing out loud. He catches on what is going on and appreciates a good joke. He’ll often make a low pitched sound , “EHHHHHH”, when he thinks something is funny, which is funny to hear and reminds me of my Mom’s, “Dit”. Even tonight, after Brenna did something silly and said, “That was fun”; Carter quietly said, “knee”(as if she hadn’t finished the word).<br />
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Today, Carter really impressed me at Shop Rite. While we were in the checkout line, an associate asked him if he wanted a balloon, and she clamped a yellow Shop Rite balloon on the cart for him. He looked up and smiled so big you’d think she’d just given him a lifetime supply of ice cream. We were extra careful clipping the balloon on his shirt, zipping his coat up, and wrapping the string around his arm twice. As I put him in the car and pulled the string down to get the balloon in with him, I watched the balloon float away as the 22 degree temperature must have been too much for the adhesive to handle. No doubt, Carter was disappointed as we watched his balloon float away, but he handled it. He didn’t even cry. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGl_Q0XCfxeEXye4R6OwtZwUkNDhBONqXF0ZkMhaUI-t1KyhfBmqvLsbJS5Dm-FLomoS1rq3kW9g8sktfrayI-Igb0HpvXA5oGY1oQQoNqSJc_tnS2UZb5gD9EmFncRVVG7BX-lyni7M/s1600/IMG_0151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGl_Q0XCfxeEXye4R6OwtZwUkNDhBONqXF0ZkMhaUI-t1KyhfBmqvLsbJS5Dm-FLomoS1rq3kW9g8sktfrayI-Igb0HpvXA5oGY1oQQoNqSJc_tnS2UZb5gD9EmFncRVVG7BX-lyni7M/s320/IMG_0151.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
Carter is known to get upset when I answer his calls at bedtime. For example, he calls downstairs to Aimee, and I go up to check on him. “NOOOOOO. I WAS TALKIN’ TO MOMMMYYYYYYYYY” is generally all I can get out of him. We have continued to challenge these behaviors; giving in to his “demands” for the sake of calm could have long term consequences, not to mention how unfair it would be to Aimee since he clearly favors her for potty issues.<br />
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Carter is clearly improving on many of his balance, communication, and frustration issues. After a great first year of school, I really look forward to his growth at camp this summer, and in Pre-K next year.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBHTsAJPZ9URgzNo5_Z89PR377nWoefESxfRbufT_DF6JqiANw4EwVwGmP3TcjjjTWaoEgAPJsuqFEtM8kTw1OrBoZaPSHSBv8jxgYuaUKg7LoGtfh5XfW4kd7VRwN2DlkCq-tlJ1Rhk/s1600/IMG_0019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBHTsAJPZ9URgzNo5_Z89PR377nWoefESxfRbufT_DF6JqiANw4EwVwGmP3TcjjjTWaoEgAPJsuqFEtM8kTw1OrBoZaPSHSBv8jxgYuaUKg7LoGtfh5XfW4kd7VRwN2DlkCq-tlJ1Rhk/s320/IMG_0019.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-82518596637997636502011-01-03T01:24:00.022-05:002011-01-03T02:06:34.961-05:00Days 6-7 We're home and safeEmily’s Wish Day 6<br />We decided a long time ago that we’d spend New Year’s Day at Magic Kingdom. We had been warned to stay away on the 31st (I found out that they were at capacity at 10am, so I’m glad we were not at a park for that). We also really wanted to be able to do the fireworks as a last hurrah before we left.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtuSCpo7Sz47XLdza-1zDLru5U9WGFRkyw1-VqWsukFrD2_e4m0OYewVOkGXN3nnJgvYjGUqJGgkeZDEPb2Qyu_NWaOD5VFYhg33kdoc6ZbaxGwNdRZJ_rcj9nllvQPfCP6tnPL00TKqF8/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1-11+004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtuSCpo7Sz47XLdza-1zDLru5U9WGFRkyw1-VqWsukFrD2_e4m0OYewVOkGXN3nnJgvYjGUqJGgkeZDEPb2Qyu_NWaOD5VFYhg33kdoc6ZbaxGwNdRZJ_rcj9nllvQPfCP6tnPL00TKqF8/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1-11+004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557843928108201698" /></a><br />We arrived at the park at 9:15am and caught the trolley show on Main Street, USA as we walked toward the castle. My friend, Tommy, who has worked at Disney for the last 12 years, sent me a text this week and told me he was performing in Mickey’s Castle Show. So when we realized the first show of the day started in just a few minutes, we sat right in front . Tommy was great and the kids loved the show (although they never did find out that Tommy was in it.)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkVEc7bbC-i2SI0XkKsPUuPLuEi8ZqjY782GqysDbYWEhlNufAke1r25aqVB3erqOXjWat39uZaGoOxX6U3k26YnGZ2Ssi-HWWmCkXuXwUV9-tKs8iSYIkbcZQY4lY2DKi_xGwkT0LoBZp/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1-11+041.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkVEc7bbC-i2SI0XkKsPUuPLuEi8ZqjY782GqysDbYWEhlNufAke1r25aqVB3erqOXjWat39uZaGoOxX6U3k26YnGZ2Ssi-HWWmCkXuXwUV9-tKs8iSYIkbcZQY4lY2DKi_xGwkT0LoBZp/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1-11+041.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557842635035320818" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_qDzvFP-mN5ZpZtTWGCcUKOZ4lMJEXJ3zP3g3IkCcaRczuluzB5jLf42f5IjzUyhGNvCGpUO_xl1xBp5Hpydf_-I81IfvPN-0K7AXGx_E7hvD_TZd0Imp6rAMGF2UjoQd9Gzled3LdEQg/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1-11+034.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_qDzvFP-mN5ZpZtTWGCcUKOZ4lMJEXJ3zP3g3IkCcaRczuluzB5jLf42f5IjzUyhGNvCGpUO_xl1xBp5Hpydf_-I81IfvPN-0K7AXGx_E7hvD_TZd0Imp6rAMGF2UjoQd9Gzled3LdEQg/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1-11+034.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557842626890036626" /></a><br /><br /><br />The first ride of the day was the Jungle Cruise, which was very funny and the way they put Emily on was awesome. We saw another family whose daughter was coming off (who clearly loved it) that said how impressed he was with the improved accessibility in just the past few years. I think our narrator was particularly good at the pun delivery throughout.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Z4fh7425BqtCSCke83A9H0rDf7lgd8eOkYmLPcbUlVPykBwU7vsg3jzgiujv7pK8MCMfggoa-BWhkhnU68sWUj4t1q00ijhR5EUpYTHBIPtlffLpIWXgZu4NTgvsH0uVQYBlMBzfS0IU/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+002.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Z4fh7425BqtCSCke83A9H0rDf7lgd8eOkYmLPcbUlVPykBwU7vsg3jzgiujv7pK8MCMfggoa-BWhkhnU68sWUj4t1q00ijhR5EUpYTHBIPtlffLpIWXgZu4NTgvsH0uVQYBlMBzfS0IU/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+002.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557842645618913826" /></a><br /><br />We met Tiana, Naveen, and Ariel, which was awesome, as each treated our kids like royalty. Brenna can be quite a handful when around a princess or two, always grabbing and looking where not entirely appropriate, but these princesses never missed a beat, and Tiana even cracked a few funny jokes along the way.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvpKvUp85M7gInIXzdg01MY8es0ZXr-3AP-DJ4Dt8rXGLIxeZfu-pPowxEcRlOG5V6nY3g1gcqxqspOL5WfR09GbxtgTb9tUGMQmp1ILKFNCYpeFWwWTG0gPXXbMnW_WlCClNow5m0dHJ/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1-11+044.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvpKvUp85M7gInIXzdg01MY8es0ZXr-3AP-DJ4Dt8rXGLIxeZfu-pPowxEcRlOG5V6nY3g1gcqxqspOL5WfR09GbxtgTb9tUGMQmp1ILKFNCYpeFWwWTG0gPXXbMnW_WlCClNow5m0dHJ/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1-11+044.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557842637609230946" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLU494obosyn8pof9GoU_fsK4k2qIR2Oi_Ls4fqdvaNcZq5RDNLKNJkwVY_epokiVY8WcwjYeP6sNj7QHJpRxKLJTPLNvnoAtVxmWvzmYUnqyBspqIVAhpPp09W9UqDEyhvq4Haivq6Se/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLU494obosyn8pof9GoU_fsK4k2qIR2Oi_Ls4fqdvaNcZq5RDNLKNJkwVY_epokiVY8WcwjYeP6sNj7QHJpRxKLJTPLNvnoAtVxmWvzmYUnqyBspqIVAhpPp09W9UqDEyhvq4Haivq6Se/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557843937999083938" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTlFGEDZoppALDOEo5fvkk5mXTAXQmkBvZUbRqWq_DhhneZAcgTFe3SAJFj2ggxwcmFzvLllu1YL97u2zpKfLbYA8welSPMYZJPAUGvw93-NRf0hWSG6spuPNdESvzvJn6O5gmvJpnmbQ/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+014.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTlFGEDZoppALDOEo5fvkk5mXTAXQmkBvZUbRqWq_DhhneZAcgTFe3SAJFj2ggxwcmFzvLllu1YL97u2zpKfLbYA8welSPMYZJPAUGvw93-NRf0hWSG6spuPNdESvzvJn6O5gmvJpnmbQ/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557843934824624754" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />We had lunch at the Crystal Palace, where we completed our autograph books by meeting Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore, and Piglet. The lunch was really good and the chef made a special nut-free brownie for Carter, which he enjoyed. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3hEDn2QLgsglxzOv7cy2EhfLDukGa1FBUf7yUf-yXwOn7uiwRfkS_0NdrgGyeMLvzEUaxbVkeuDsAlAwlhxmLPzAQwVvJRMDx7ocvQbC9duni6m0js6rUtdoigBzrsCO-WR0XDUjqdGs/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+044.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3hEDn2QLgsglxzOv7cy2EhfLDukGa1FBUf7yUf-yXwOn7uiwRfkS_0NdrgGyeMLvzEUaxbVkeuDsAlAwlhxmLPzAQwVvJRMDx7ocvQbC9duni6m0js6rUtdoigBzrsCO-WR0XDUjqdGs/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+044.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557843942224998626" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JJ2WzoBEw7dyEgJthfaYyJ8x2a6fF5438GNglX6J3fwhfMPZBOsRyVyNlgTwuWje8ayd95jf4tZKnp4u00TFjEbqhXGRODB45JJNdcfkqfWtRE3pXBtyj-DgwgYrKflsPOmSi2xzWbma/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+036.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JJ2WzoBEw7dyEgJthfaYyJ8x2a6fF5438GNglX6J3fwhfMPZBOsRyVyNlgTwuWje8ayd95jf4tZKnp4u00TFjEbqhXGRODB45JJNdcfkqfWtRE3pXBtyj-DgwgYrKflsPOmSi2xzWbma/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557843938659372114" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPCiBfsAdwvBkIXgdDv4As6JUkmNmFZ2fxInslIaTxKNDlfJ8teuPucUXYl0v09gZf8uCEZqSVIJbMRDWIZbHZx8wk5k17dsIRME9I_QJGvPybGcCVmtRSWRkVUTqLIJmHgj996kyk5W0/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+069.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPCiBfsAdwvBkIXgdDv4As6JUkmNmFZ2fxInslIaTxKNDlfJ8teuPucUXYl0v09gZf8uCEZqSVIJbMRDWIZbHZx8wk5k17dsIRME9I_QJGvPybGcCVmtRSWRkVUTqLIJmHgj996kyk5W0/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+069.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557845124421095794" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3C3VPyVPSezBLwuXodqczwP4txeHhVRXUezdAqO-S-VUhtSt3nwVklnyntQEDkQTeT8W45mB-LtgZ2Q8YT0-Wq_MYgIRVvwcqa0-NZIFMde46RncyLouLkmMo68nLp2jFVGhfQvBBcXx/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+066.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3C3VPyVPSezBLwuXodqczwP4txeHhVRXUezdAqO-S-VUhtSt3nwVklnyntQEDkQTeT8W45mB-LtgZ2Q8YT0-Wq_MYgIRVvwcqa0-NZIFMde46RncyLouLkmMo68nLp2jFVGhfQvBBcXx/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+066.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557845116701145554" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlhpCb3nPs0Wudi2G_iICIWj86k4Ag4QbY1PmfA3ZsckVtGaY2M8mTOJwcptkRXxawjcvop6j1I91zCPI93WnnjWGlSn8YBgS_6ofazaouKPYawS3KZOtFa_qfqjYZaD841KoJabHio9p/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+061.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlhpCb3nPs0Wudi2G_iICIWj86k4Ag4QbY1PmfA3ZsckVtGaY2M8mTOJwcptkRXxawjcvop6j1I91zCPI93WnnjWGlSn8YBgS_6ofazaouKPYawS3KZOtFa_qfqjYZaD841KoJabHio9p/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+061.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557845113832613314" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDMnDsESWx7eRmnBJeVHw21L3Bd8yKejuxZwRlH6BSFSrsJA7tP8BLJv4ggaF54HaUKn_tiZww_toWMtcFvOjXpnHz0XFSIxtHs3uZM-Mq18Wv9itAHyzp-B0fubbL0RMz-176vIyMz4E/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+053.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDMnDsESWx7eRmnBJeVHw21L3Bd8yKejuxZwRlH6BSFSrsJA7tP8BLJv4ggaF54HaUKn_tiZww_toWMtcFvOjXpnHz0XFSIxtHs3uZM-Mq18Wv9itAHyzp-B0fubbL0RMz-176vIyMz4E/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+053.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557845106457417490" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRUr4dby7zSQIxMieuTyKrvHGkjToTybEuKyJBY5Hs2vkmjB8fSAnxis6aT7clECul3H222mreXACoKapcaVlIUrKRG3nQI1Gax3Z-4TIt65QTaJjlYLe1Xosm9iATF_7DSAm8-cwZX3M/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+050.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRUr4dby7zSQIxMieuTyKrvHGkjToTybEuKyJBY5Hs2vkmjB8fSAnxis6aT7clECul3H222mreXACoKapcaVlIUrKRG3nQI1Gax3Z-4TIt65QTaJjlYLe1Xosm9iATF_7DSAm8-cwZX3M/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+050.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557845103665900018" /></a><br /><br /><br />We visited the wish lounge to relax a bit since we had such a long day ahead of us. I read a condensed version of 101 Dalmations while Aimee took care of Em’s tests, diaper change, bag cleaning and refilling.<br /><br />Then, a costume change!! We were off to meet the Princesses and Fairies. We met the princesses first after about a 10 minute wait and a frightening moment when Brenna walked the wrong direction in pursuit of a Mickey Mouse sticker. It was only about 5 seconds of absolute fear, but everything was in slow motion, just like in the movies. We met Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle (in yellow- and no, they didn’t think it was odd that she didn’t remember them from before). They spent SO MUCH TIME with us and the rest of the room was empty, which I don’t think is the norm. I know a ten minute wait isn’t the norm either, so needless to say, Aimee and I really appreciated the VIP treatment Emily and the whole family received throughout the trip, but especially the personal touch received when meeting the characters. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNc3V4awejOSiQe5VsoLMk9g8-Ww702rr0sQACOYoBOeNMJS70DEBbbE2CDneafy1xwvY4aTqp7MsEfYPl7AzLKwzw9cxC9qoshmFmGEoIRZk8e5GHiduFsX5nDvlowQTFqqcnhvLhkOI/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+091.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNc3V4awejOSiQe5VsoLMk9g8-Ww702rr0sQACOYoBOeNMJS70DEBbbE2CDneafy1xwvY4aTqp7MsEfYPl7AzLKwzw9cxC9qoshmFmGEoIRZk8e5GHiduFsX5nDvlowQTFqqcnhvLhkOI/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+091.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557845886358210114" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetjD5XwVs6j5IfI-4xevUniRMaFkkEpwLDhXw-Iuyvg72Q0bDg3Wb_t4bjfvfOPpWBaGcbhbN5EXnRT62T29FJ8JZM18AL3hy5kYJll1jtUdNnUGdgTMzwbMJtdYaErKCw9A67rTeI0gE/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+087.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetjD5XwVs6j5IfI-4xevUniRMaFkkEpwLDhXw-Iuyvg72Q0bDg3Wb_t4bjfvfOPpWBaGcbhbN5EXnRT62T29FJ8JZM18AL3hy5kYJll1jtUdNnUGdgTMzwbMJtdYaErKCw9A67rTeI0gE/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+087.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557845883320577090" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3pPxlJAKzIMz13PcW7ZOZ5Ntg21BWI-kFEe4NrYg20wAP8GHA7WtxJJOq-ehj4AfpkzLuLP8epkOKrzX0Mo2N6EEMMsRX40dbz6R-j5ATUb32WLML8Hc2AFRVGDmUCENKGUyxDLpWphT/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+084.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3pPxlJAKzIMz13PcW7ZOZ5Ntg21BWI-kFEe4NrYg20wAP8GHA7WtxJJOq-ehj4AfpkzLuLP8epkOKrzX0Mo2N6EEMMsRX40dbz6R-j5ATUb32WLML8Hc2AFRVGDmUCENKGUyxDLpWphT/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+084.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557845879194018242" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMfwqbiJokoAl28egNgGVPbLs-TXxbQD27OH7UXdQlYrqhmoBPuyLGuzDUUh5smMaNq7uihksYINNozVNcLe35MZr7F7xwniaGI7kNe9HQHHKznpb3yQxC63V7I9EPm6OoNkZ6P3IwHI1/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+081.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMfwqbiJokoAl28egNgGVPbLs-TXxbQD27OH7UXdQlYrqhmoBPuyLGuzDUUh5smMaNq7uihksYINNozVNcLe35MZr7F7xwniaGI7kNe9HQHHKznpb3yQxC63V7I9EPm6OoNkZ6P3IwHI1/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+081.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557845875663452066" /></a><br /> We had to wait just another five minutes or so to meet the fairies, where we met Fawn, Tinkerbelle, and Vidia. We really liked Fawn and Vidia, because it was clear that they both really enjoyed their characters. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyGpGKdL00ThW7MCWSKIwXe-I3YTPTU9gZLMcg-30vGItgCY2eV2w7wV-yKKMkzw7LP_UJoingjF8XsEqo7GZ50lEyTC16plL97klWqPiS4YeAnrL3gRN3qit8sl1M97HCg0Ar3sGOie5/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+106.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyGpGKdL00ThW7MCWSKIwXe-I3YTPTU9gZLMcg-30vGItgCY2eV2w7wV-yKKMkzw7LP_UJoingjF8XsEqo7GZ50lEyTC16plL97klWqPiS4YeAnrL3gRN3qit8sl1M97HCg0Ar3sGOie5/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+106.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557846673426014642" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR154LKRcXtF5d4_lGaeWPUeh6yhGGI2cJYQ5Wmuzw0h4NRM_gczXmqQyMndlj0EmmNYFHYb5VFStjNV8aJa-hLfOhfthfTTMk8P_eZtEW64wmrpfcVZgtaB9FhdcY0okdLp1j7lurFXbu/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+102.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR154LKRcXtF5d4_lGaeWPUeh6yhGGI2cJYQ5Wmuzw0h4NRM_gczXmqQyMndlj0EmmNYFHYb5VFStjNV8aJa-hLfOhfthfTTMk8P_eZtEW64wmrpfcVZgtaB9FhdcY0okdLp1j7lurFXbu/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+102.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557846660980640866" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62ubbBw4_o-8upFvMfADvZl1WDYaeTo6q5BC4SWfQJAI994LRfn8qcR_5_bjGViUmwochGsS4SaJIcKrTTHfwNkTSYU-lgfHUaQLHlTNIz63lwtmFePMQXKBMM-0g08RQ6PH3H_U8fXgm/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+093.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62ubbBw4_o-8upFvMfADvZl1WDYaeTo6q5BC4SWfQJAI994LRfn8qcR_5_bjGViUmwochGsS4SaJIcKrTTHfwNkTSYU-lgfHUaQLHlTNIz63lwtmFePMQXKBMM-0g08RQ6PH3H_U8fXgm/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+093.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557846661381557026" /></a><br /><br />The highlight of our day came at somewhat of a surprise. I think the ride was called, The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and to me, it seemed pretty ordinary. We had virtually no wait and the handicapped car was able to have the bouncing turned off (thank heavens!). Emily absolutely LOVED THIS RIDE. I screamed ahead to Aimee (who had the other kids in a separate car) because Emily was looking, smiling, and audibly laughing pretty much the whole time. There were lots of bright orange and yellow things, which Emily favors, plus black lights, which really made them jump out. Aimee and I have sort of decided for her that Tigger is her favorite, but boy-oh-boy did she verify it during this ride! I was so excited for her. Don’t think us strange if you ever visit and we have a fluorescent Tigger picture and black lights in our living room!<br /><br />Right after the ride, I checked my cell phone for messages as Tommy would have a two-hour break between 3:30 and 5:30 and I was hoping to get to see him. He caught up with us behind the castle within a few minutes and took some much needed “Facebook Update” photos <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkZm6MlbSs3dwHon2OGMTS696E7hMvFKdHREGOrtgX5B5jB1X_fmPn7-XK9Kxcb1hvEiPF4eRa7yK0aLgOzQLxyqlmyFRxzYGhbNxfNvnc4IKor4GFhahZZLCCJGTiErjYxy35eVaTPky/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+110.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkZm6MlbSs3dwHon2OGMTS696E7hMvFKdHREGOrtgX5B5jB1X_fmPn7-XK9Kxcb1hvEiPF4eRa7yK0aLgOzQLxyqlmyFRxzYGhbNxfNvnc4IKor4GFhahZZLCCJGTiErjYxy35eVaTPky/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+110.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557847118561766274" /></a><br />(The only other shot we have was 14 years ago). The family took to him quickly, and we were able to catch up while we waited in line for the coveted Dole Whip. This was Aimee’s surprise for me: Pineapple softserve ice cream. I’d never heard of it, but certainly will never forget it. <br /> <br />After lots of peer pressure and a slight mockery by Aimee of a certain Jamboree, we decided to alter our schedule and visit the Tiki Room, which was really fun. I caught Brenna out of the corner of my eye clapping furiously right after the first bird sang. She (and the rest of us) thought it was really cute.<br />Unfortunately, Tommy needed to get back for his next shift, so we said our goodbyes. (It was great seeing you again, Tommy!)<br /><br />We made our way to the Magic Carpets where Aimee, Carter, Brenna, and Drew got “spit on” by a camel during the fun flying adventure. Emily hung out by the exit for this one! <br /><br />The Country Bear Jamboree was as much fun as I remembered and more fun than Aimee remembered. We both agree that your perspective changes when you have kids and you enjoy things because you see how much they appreciate it. This was especially clear to us during this last week.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxHI5gtUk4NBp96ld7BCpMrdFSTn2ZVhxL4nD9DoIgSGTL-KwhznEMo-FMvSnjqGsGXBmvj1kXzyFEOH79lGr1p88aHexZu1ZwMmpXkHEKUmNJsLfPzcaqUj4GtGuz3PYKUoWYPdNoCOx/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+124.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxHI5gtUk4NBp96ld7BCpMrdFSTn2ZVhxL4nD9DoIgSGTL-KwhznEMo-FMvSnjqGsGXBmvj1kXzyFEOH79lGr1p88aHexZu1ZwMmpXkHEKUmNJsLfPzcaqUj4GtGuz3PYKUoWYPdNoCOx/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+124.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557847679352483346" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTPMSzsMqszgJbBhrbUFB-GqmOn9KOO6Clf4ULkDBXS27lpjFrceUL1nuoGz7cgqVyE6WLgJP-IoBra6Iz5IkOhumw5fuP0OxtR8eLbNOgRFlbhZPzR1Ky_zF7cfzXscuPnZJ9ZDD9rkl/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+115.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTPMSzsMqszgJbBhrbUFB-GqmOn9KOO6Clf4ULkDBXS27lpjFrceUL1nuoGz7cgqVyE6WLgJP-IoBra6Iz5IkOhumw5fuP0OxtR8eLbNOgRFlbhZPzR1Ky_zF7cfzXscuPnZJ9ZDD9rkl/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+115.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557847674023348482" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9xloaM9cN6v7FqQUIEnrnOzXkC_LBQpnDEBvKySoltvhqectSAmLbrwzfDyy_udMGoby5HeNOMBljZ8tV-JCzS3eeH_svzNFDjvLQZTNSEaJsuFhTU-lcMU6-WE1w2GUrkI_B3QLoqh4/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+112.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9xloaM9cN6v7FqQUIEnrnOzXkC_LBQpnDEBvKySoltvhqectSAmLbrwzfDyy_udMGoby5HeNOMBljZ8tV-JCzS3eeH_svzNFDjvLQZTNSEaJsuFhTU-lcMU6-WE1w2GUrkI_B3QLoqh4/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+112.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557847670218797394" /></a><br /><br />This is the part of this post where I mention how Aimee and I scoffed at the idea of standing and holding a spot for the parade because everyone was getting cranky and the 45 minutes would have been not fun. We figured we’d be able to see the bright lights no matter where we were… (some of you may know where this is leading…) Aimee took Drew, Carter, and Brenna on Peter Pan as the last ride before the parade and fireworks and they all came out excited about it. Emily had been fading out and we really wanted her to be awake for the bright lights, so we didn’t push it. <br />We returned to the Wish Lounge for Emily’s care and drinks and I took turns running Brenna, Carter, and Drew to the restroom. The looks I was getting from the people sitting on the patio were pretty funny since I kept coming out of the door with a different kid. <br /><br />When we finally made it out we started to understand why people planned their spots so meticulously. We couldn’t get near the street, which would have been ok if everyone stayed sitting. Unfortunately, everyone in the front stands up, and everyone in the second row on puts their kid on their shoulders. Thus, even Aimee and I couldn’t see and we were grossly outnumbered in the kid to shoulders ratio. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2yd50uonyK04hZEk7ahda2JHofRePWWZkpbyFu9b6V4SVmZ5J3PEKaIUBiTmRLyYOqgQrN6yvnL6An5qmZJWVV8NRCZ_Rp8A4JXraSUlF2EMqo9AIhG9v17LJdW5xY7M-Th1VnrI81Y_/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+129.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2yd50uonyK04hZEk7ahda2JHofRePWWZkpbyFu9b6V4SVmZ5J3PEKaIUBiTmRLyYOqgQrN6yvnL6An5qmZJWVV8NRCZ_Rp8A4JXraSUlF2EMqo9AIhG9v17LJdW5xY7M-Th1VnrI81Y_/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+129.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557848232140647922" /></a><br />We wanted Emily to see it, so I held her up and Aimee took turns holding up each of the other three, but although this works in theory, there are several problems with this plan. One, neither Aimee nor I particularly enjoy holding children in the air for extended periods of time. Two, the two kids on the ground typically get bored since they can’t see and tend to wander a bit in a large noisy crowd IN THE DARK. And Three, as time elapsed, Carter, and Brenna were much less tolerant of being on the ground for extended periods, so they just cranky crashed into tantrums… meanwhile, I was stressed out that we’d lose a wandering crankster. This is where I definitely ended up being unhappy at Disneyworld. Now the bright side of all of this is that Emily loved what she saw, as did everyone else; it was just a bit of a letdown. The good news was that we were in prime position for the fireworks that would start in an hour. But… Now we were an hour hungrier and an hour crankier. <br /><br />We went over to get hot dogs so we could come right back, but apparently hot dogs are in much higher demand right after the parade than they were 10 minutes ago, so we waited in line much longer than we expected. By the time we finished eating, the fireworks were about to begin.<br />Tommy had told me that we would be fine if we were in front of the castle. When we started to move that way, there wasn’t enough room to get the stroller through and we had to go back to the left and eventually just had to stop and watch because otherwise we’d miss it while trying to find a spot.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YGrnAZzZqJ7Tbaj7HGMOItWkbW7jQkoqPnMwf316SH-gdAx6GJOKT5lnoJiEaFT-sr4Rfnw0YaRe4UBHH0zISJp4RtFrRSh-UUTwqIFL159tcbvOvCas54G_ZyEquSvhdNggKxuyxFzT/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+128.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YGrnAZzZqJ7Tbaj7HGMOItWkbW7jQkoqPnMwf316SH-gdAx6GJOKT5lnoJiEaFT-sr4Rfnw0YaRe4UBHH0zISJp4RtFrRSh-UUTwqIFL159tcbvOvCas54G_ZyEquSvhdNggKxuyxFzT/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+128.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557849075753415490" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnyxOa3wwRXIXppF0EAb2S08why87mHf8-78UnaQqED6pkVdS6E3r9lIGLXhw7oxmG7KzS9VErWv-rsPXSOn3DSxTq5IuLI3jR5VVeDx-D3KHyCoKmacsfoF-Q1g52ze2z3zPkx09FVxNh/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+135.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnyxOa3wwRXIXppF0EAb2S08why87mHf8-78UnaQqED6pkVdS6E3r9lIGLXhw7oxmG7KzS9VErWv-rsPXSOn3DSxTq5IuLI3jR5VVeDx-D3KHyCoKmacsfoF-Q1g52ze2z3zPkx09FVxNh/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+135.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557849071597172306" /></a>(Above is a good shot of the tree that blocked much of our view)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIsfIOSC8kNIrKn7HC75gailLMP3Z4StAR-10dgZ_ebMLdsUuOAHcPqzX8XhaqEajcCW6xv6OOb0oUcdiMCbCuTA_6MKMQsNldnny8STXTDAoHlMgEnm8KH8McxyrlBQi5Yadb8NCO7OP/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+137.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIsfIOSC8kNIrKn7HC75gailLMP3Z4StAR-10dgZ_ebMLdsUuOAHcPqzX8XhaqEajcCW6xv6OOb0oUcdiMCbCuTA_6MKMQsNldnny8STXTDAoHlMgEnm8KH8McxyrlBQi5Yadb8NCO7OP/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+137.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557849072761174098" /></a><br /> Again, Emily was awake throughout, didn’t seem bothered by the loud noises, and clearly watched the lights during the whole presentation. But it was a bit of a letdown after all the planning. <br />We talked about it and decided to stay for the next parade, even though we were another hour crankier and another hour loopier. We staked our spots on the sidewalk edge and joked and sang songs, and cuddled together waiting for our incredible trip end on a high note. It was SO WORTH IT. Cranky or not, it was worth it. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2zDHIAYBvvKHk_haoIuY_7K-MvnE0bzE0J2piFOEhdDjRBHanY4hyphenhyphennqoIn29ov6hOiSJMOKKxqKRwKHubn_A0LqSQdBjPmMX5FUsg0DY6DWcb1N6sDkd8Enptl_UxussAg3Im1GjNpWu/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+140.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2zDHIAYBvvKHk_haoIuY_7K-MvnE0bzE0J2piFOEhdDjRBHanY4hyphenhyphennqoIn29ov6hOiSJMOKKxqKRwKHubn_A0LqSQdBjPmMX5FUsg0DY6DWcb1N6sDkd8Enptl_UxussAg3Im1GjNpWu/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+140.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557849797404656290" /></a><br /><br /><br />Emily’s Wish Day 7<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-y7cYJsSfkq3znNnXsapft0AmhqcIh6LnO3BkVKhp2FmU_ZD07nOrkktOWvXXGdZIokETCXr14u6d3XfvAbU0s71ETax3lJf-fvBwCe5XD-pL__GTURSVVmUglhK3OUACPleZXDc162v/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+142.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-y7cYJsSfkq3znNnXsapft0AmhqcIh6LnO3BkVKhp2FmU_ZD07nOrkktOWvXXGdZIokETCXr14u6d3XfvAbU0s71ETax3lJf-fvBwCe5XD-pL__GTURSVVmUglhK3OUACPleZXDc162v/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+142.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557850119905271810" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnHCe5O4ADSXl-BT_XFaR3zCO7kTQKZzX1M3VjpBPEf-9w-82GRHNXwDOKwMYtxx5F-u1FnKtl6eXQ84X8x3mNccHJt8sgcVl5HpwRPyej1sRXyMxArsmumPZ89GLLqA9NSrG4BMfzaoh/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+162.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnHCe5O4ADSXl-BT_XFaR3zCO7kTQKZzX1M3VjpBPEf-9w-82GRHNXwDOKwMYtxx5F-u1FnKtl6eXQ84X8x3mNccHJt8sgcVl5HpwRPyej1sRXyMxArsmumPZ89GLLqA9NSrG4BMfzaoh/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+162.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557850426260504658" /></a><br /><br />We ate breakfast, cleaned up, packed, went on a final carousel ride and checked out. At check out they gave us a special passport that will allow free admission for all 6 of us at over 100 different parks nationwide for the next year. Several of them are close enough that we will likely get to use it more than once.<br />As promised, we took Drew and the money from his piggy bank to the Lego store. He was able to find some things he liked and we got to see some really neat creations.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipD8qhnPa0tV6sIvYgYo53ReSJkp21AdkSEBlRCj_0B1z1NRMEZ_WK_1nBLabVuqsjMmYyx_z6vZ6wV5tVeflghmU3SVRkj52I5tWtsXOiRPu-9krVtwYtPngjnAPrjkuNjdUspEgn6yWX/s1600/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+172.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipD8qhnPa0tV6sIvYgYo53ReSJkp21AdkSEBlRCj_0B1z1NRMEZ_WK_1nBLabVuqsjMmYyx_z6vZ6wV5tVeflghmU3SVRkj52I5tWtsXOiRPu-9krVtwYtPngjnAPrjkuNjdUspEgn6yWX/s320/Magic+Kingdom+1-1+Part+2+172.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557850721263088594" /></a><br /><br />On the way to the airport, Carter got sick in the car and needed to be changed, plus emptying out a rental car when you have a child who needs to be held and another who wants to be held is pretty impossible without other adults. All told, it took nearly an hour to get to the ticket counter.<br />Adam the TSA Agent came to our rescue. He escorted us through the checkpoint and carried Em’s car seat and two bags all the way to our flight. Quickly Aimee took Emily to get her changed and I mixed her meds and unfortunately poured water into the pill crusher which may create some additional difficulties tomorrow.<br />When Aimee came back and Emily had her medicine, I volunteered to go get food from Wendy’s. I suggested giving the kids our cheese crackers and get fries to go with them, because I didn’t think they’d eat the Wendy’s nuggets. Aimee disagreed and insisted that I get the nuggets. Finally, once at the front of the Wendy’s line, I ordered the nuggets: The cashier told me they were all out. I asked her if she’d write me a note to my wife… Yeah, I asked, I’m not ashamed. I didn’t think Aimee would believe me. Even if she did, the doubts would linger. The cashier apparently isn’t allowed to write notes on company time, so she called over Jeff, the Wendy’s manager, to see if he could help. I explained my plight and he said he’d do me one better. He comped the meal and wrote a note on the bottom of the receipt, “Sorry, no nuggets”.<br />Luckily, since the flight was full, we (and anyone else on the flight) were invited to check additional carry-ons for free, which made transferring to the plane and off much easier.<br />The flight was unremarkable; the ride home was quick and warm. I’m looking forward to going to bed after a long week wishes coming true. Thanks Make a Wish-New Jersey, Give Kids The World, and all the sponsors of these incredible organizations. We will never forget this week.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyp7WDpY0a2DHEeJdUNfeSSHWyiRZUz0l5daHfzoQGh22Oncqcn8-DnZ1J1ie77kOBD4o2sCh-q4PqpVwtbgRG197vFzH_M6R50zgRQuVEHQs0SyU_Zyw0PqE5F37AnDphQHJXGb2vryVt/s1600/Mickey+%2526+Minnie+%2528338%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyp7WDpY0a2DHEeJdUNfeSSHWyiRZUz0l5daHfzoQGh22Oncqcn8-DnZ1J1ie77kOBD4o2sCh-q4PqpVwtbgRG197vFzH_M6R50zgRQuVEHQs0SyU_Zyw0PqE5F37AnDphQHJXGb2vryVt/s320/Mickey+%2526+Minnie+%2528338%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557851049338404626" /></a>Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-86133410144304002182010-12-31T22:51:00.019-05:002010-12-31T23:26:13.767-05:00Day 5 Emily's TripEmily’s Wish Day 5<br />A conversation with Aimee this morning:<br />“What are we wearing today?”<br />“We’re just staying here at the village, it’s a choice day.”<br />“Really?”<br />“Wait, let me check my list.”<br /><br />So it was a choice day for me, but everyone else had an assigned outfit. We were scheduled to do Sea World, but my nausea is really becoming an issue, Drew’s ear was still unresolved, and Carter has been crankier than normal and was sick on the flight, and he tends to be carsick more when he has an ear infection… So we called the urgent care down the street to see if our insurance was accepted (it was) and we went to breakfast at the Gingerbread House after a quick visit with Scooby Doo in the Castle of Miracles.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvZYhkfDWxOrGPmbc_8EOJqCzQSbs2hm9ejDskG8_2c_YcoTk1I7PQn_qQORZDCRqDB7DGMMlJJ17l0_2cR_j5dwj7im5NyINpscgM7WXHHUPimaF2w0W1Ro3DjmgdRRJ8mVLA04ys9t5/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvZYhkfDWxOrGPmbc_8EOJqCzQSbs2hm9ejDskG8_2c_YcoTk1I7PQn_qQORZDCRqDB7DGMMlJJ17l0_2cR_j5dwj7im5NyINpscgM7WXHHUPimaF2w0W1Ro3DjmgdRRJ8mVLA04ys9t5/s320/002.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557068027972531282" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHjXdvaXKs66s7O2XxUfxH2069rsi8pL2Y9EvonmN73tslT8SVFOzmhBOVft7Hx8YKrnqdvkki5FqN8Ecq3EquZM6HrJTCA2KuaTsg2wddQeZtYKf8bj_1OmPW42Q1aXxKnXwhBwbMHnKk/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHjXdvaXKs66s7O2XxUfxH2069rsi8pL2Y9EvonmN73tslT8SVFOzmhBOVft7Hx8YKrnqdvkki5FqN8Ecq3EquZM6HrJTCA2KuaTsg2wddQeZtYKf8bj_1OmPW42Q1aXxKnXwhBwbMHnKk/s320/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557067587804640994" /></a><br /><br />After breakfast, the boys and I were off to urgent care from 9:30 until 11:15, when the desk clerk told us it was silly to wait in the lobby, the Doctor couldn’t see us until 1:30. She suggested we should go get some lunch. I had a few suggestions for her, too, but I kept them to myself. <br /><br />While we were out, Emily and Brenna went to the Twinkle Hope’s La-Ti-Da Royal Spa for their scheduled manicures, made their pillows in the castle of miracles, visited the Train Station /arcade and enjoyed some late-morning ice cream.<br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgae_Ogm7mUsZAjiD1df_fLIerXncGv3O_ZolwduvjqsQVVpqYXr91y5_dGaN_HQu2ccOWoToru76nYblLwdwCh-UwQvBxz0RZL2j1TQwOA-b1H1Mau_TZ7Wnc5YSV5Ovnz9zY6jp7Xa6bD/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgae_Ogm7mUsZAjiD1df_fLIerXncGv3O_ZolwduvjqsQVVpqYXr91y5_dGaN_HQu2ccOWoToru76nYblLwdwCh-UwQvBxz0RZL2j1TQwOA-b1H1Mau_TZ7Wnc5YSV5Ovnz9zY6jp7Xa6bD/s320/012.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557067145827938706" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqS05zaZnILm_-zpmPCO178KfkiL-lfXtKgj85HqI-xNFq7HNGE38lnajpr2MElhs-lsKej53sbfJeEMvzfKZXpzS_UznGi6gpfZMO16M9T9lYeu-3DvbnFMbZBqX_ZQhJyrgTOG8nx4R/s1600/035.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqS05zaZnILm_-zpmPCO178KfkiL-lfXtKgj85HqI-xNFq7HNGE38lnajpr2MElhs-lsKej53sbfJeEMvzfKZXpzS_UznGi6gpfZMO16M9T9lYeu-3DvbnFMbZBqX_ZQhJyrgTOG8nx4R/s320/035.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557068899650986706" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRMjxdkAzXYSH3KwA6nouXGcksdVbFIVZqYhDdO9YY3e_cGbj-rFDv2flVZCZ_y74IMmBbMPy-ya1NOp7P2qIxIbRe2YlN0nEAEAfORRTn3cZeaAFa53r4d0dLiL2q99TtLS_-qyf_KCqp/s1600/019.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRMjxdkAzXYSH3KwA6nouXGcksdVbFIVZqYhDdO9YY3e_cGbj-rFDv2flVZCZ_y74IMmBbMPy-ya1NOp7P2qIxIbRe2YlN0nEAEAfORRTn3cZeaAFa53r4d0dLiL2q99TtLS_-qyf_KCqp/s320/019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557067140471398258" /></a><br /> <br />We shared a light lunch then the boys and I went back to urgent care and then to get prescriptions for each of us at Walmart. We finally made it back at 3:45 and the boys finally could join the girls on Matthew’s Boundless Playground in the beautiful weather (72 and clear)! <br /><br />We all made our way down for a train ride, games, and a huge train set with individual buttons the kids could press to make the different trains and animated features go. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMs1t4mJ7dYR0POgy_Jinh7ACL2tre_OZCTBrgN_Glp0SXLHDws_mAP2xvi4YsXA_bV-X42kfnh3T9wlNVjoR8bDD2rwWHRAsmzq18ip9X-Hyj56bEnQiajrZEfa0PRQ8e7UqV-BsgPAa/s1600/047.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMs1t4mJ7dYR0POgy_Jinh7ACL2tre_OZCTBrgN_Glp0SXLHDws_mAP2xvi4YsXA_bV-X42kfnh3T9wlNVjoR8bDD2rwWHRAsmzq18ip9X-Hyj56bEnQiajrZEfa0PRQ8e7UqV-BsgPAa/s320/047.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557066248348078466" /></a><br /><br /> Carter was so excited when looking at the trains that there were audible bangs twice when he pushed his head forward to look at the trains. Perhaps they keep the glass too clean around here, because he kept ramming into it! <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4_l_rNX7fP8HfYvaJYFfPvaUiWHMOMsvB9_hQ8VPT_mjTU5FNtuRDvbMEXDWGrr6K9WJHonnw3Awg0iG-yxWS8njr-O8-j1mtv8i_-hjmdUq-bYWyXGEtazxQmw8PiyqBO-7bpvJOTVl/s1600/025.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4_l_rNX7fP8HfYvaJYFfPvaUiWHMOMsvB9_hQ8VPT_mjTU5FNtuRDvbMEXDWGrr6K9WJHonnw3Awg0iG-yxWS8njr-O8-j1mtv8i_-hjmdUq-bYWyXGEtazxQmw8PiyqBO-7bpvJOTVl/s320/025.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557065553551851538" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFtwhm78ULreI4UsAzcfj1UTDSeu6_Em8BGIEl33oKB3urkb-hIAezzGhLFgfiTXsr6Aa50y6P9Scl67l5qkL6JhhDlW1maQHSlpLjLYs652cotsE2SPGpcCyXd7R9O4HGuVIRGJZ5IB_/s1600/053.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFtwhm78ULreI4UsAzcfj1UTDSeu6_Em8BGIEl33oKB3urkb-hIAezzGhLFgfiTXsr6Aa50y6P9Scl67l5qkL6JhhDlW1maQHSlpLjLYs652cotsE2SPGpcCyXd7R9O4HGuVIRGJZ5IB_/s320/053.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557065548649739074" /></a><br /><br /> Drew also got to try some remote control boats and some old school video games. For the record, Aimee’s score on Ms. PacMan was higher than mine but she will only play games she is good at, so I think we can assume I would have whooped her in Joust, PaperBoy, and NBA Jam…<br /><br />Since Emily was fussing a bit and I didn’t really want to eat, I brought her back to the villa and relaxed while Aimee took Drew, Carter, and Brenna to dinner at the Gingerbread house. When they returned, we headed over to the pool area for the Pirates and Princesses Party. Our girls dressed like Sleeping Beauty and were given tiaras and makeup, while Carter and Drew received inflatable pirate swords, mustaches, and tattoos. After all the standard festivities, they started passing out hats, light sticks, noisemakers, and cups of sparking apple cider. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYVTZnwGhPfuvygZGzaGMLFUqGa0y1ONr3lwZQf_-TEGV1TxN05czuHQ6vOvFNNDlH8EHd7REEHX7n0p3e7IH8lDBPf2DvR4YUeN54z175Z9l3pQJxRH4qd15qe22CQwj87r-Fv21mxLS/s1600/095.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYVTZnwGhPfuvygZGzaGMLFUqGa0y1ONr3lwZQf_-TEGV1TxN05czuHQ6vOvFNNDlH8EHd7REEHX7n0p3e7IH8lDBPf2DvR4YUeN54z175Z9l3pQJxRH4qd15qe22CQwj87r-Fv21mxLS/s320/095.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557064333935806098" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlfGz0pMAItpF_rC2Fk_WD7noIE5dmIdEBBf7MK4cWXQ1j4uWRvXJbsRudbJiMMKq8jA4Fi5mNp8B5i0_qzCJAITu7RJ0itG_hFkpFYdLS9lrjzWEukrUzH9j-x_t4PJxYfd0OMqcwZez/s1600/091.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlfGz0pMAItpF_rC2Fk_WD7noIE5dmIdEBBf7MK4cWXQ1j4uWRvXJbsRudbJiMMKq8jA4Fi5mNp8B5i0_qzCJAITu7RJ0itG_hFkpFYdLS9lrjzWEukrUzH9j-x_t4PJxYfd0OMqcwZez/s320/091.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557063823796006178" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodvEjQ8PzFlE1tI8i2xehy1SXHmoQbQj7Zg1bn9KNC-SIXnKyP6SXWGme2zgeuuZGWM-J-jG3h-aF7z5JhvzC04W2eOShDTNEYxe0xPF7pzXVr6uFT6buTFnXjrqq5Nyyu5ydOE_CxWYh/s1600/098.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodvEjQ8PzFlE1tI8i2xehy1SXHmoQbQj7Zg1bn9KNC-SIXnKyP6SXWGme2zgeuuZGWM-J-jG3h-aF7z5JhvzC04W2eOShDTNEYxe0xPF7pzXVr6uFT6buTFnXjrqq5Nyyu5ydOE_CxWYh/s320/098.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557063431965299474" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc7SkVbr58HSUNJTkkmA0Qluz52k8K2ZQmwmjTWScTTHvSFEXJwJeEw0S8vFzRIsSlPxzw8I-mZIAUCUPgD3abbL7yETF-TbTjZEKJzGL8e5GDjy0L7ddQTvPSHP2x6E8-9JMIZeaz2qih/s1600/100.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc7SkVbr58HSUNJTkkmA0Qluz52k8K2ZQmwmjTWScTTHvSFEXJwJeEw0S8vFzRIsSlPxzw8I-mZIAUCUPgD3abbL7yETF-TbTjZEKJzGL8e5GDjy0L7ddQTvPSHP2x6E8-9JMIZeaz2qih/s320/100.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557063113906110210" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomEuYI0fNMLVg04SsgmOIfaa_n622kastg4QjD7c0KzglBw0uAggEZBdCS878VAsBepY6TaKujMkhaZ3slGc3JmW_wg0-tS3Qx4a4EE7mBGDdLhTVdl-BGw-TM57tCJLiPGBt23OV4qRe/s1600/108.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomEuYI0fNMLVg04SsgmOIfaa_n622kastg4QjD7c0KzglBw0uAggEZBdCS878VAsBepY6TaKujMkhaZ3slGc3JmW_wg0-tS3Qx4a4EE7mBGDdLhTVdl-BGw-TM57tCJLiPGBt23OV4qRe/s320/108.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557062252839839218" /></a><br /><br />Carter liked it a LOT. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFHbQL_f0rhHIN3ZjRidofyOTfQcq9KIZrvCwPvFUIYmk23G4cLnib3hjeME8ylozCKa4RqC4Z3cegoBslnkO_LRWp0KvKqjah3BeWLksKTlgMzzKXXeftzAxSCcqwgJReJAyLnjPgj08/s1600/107.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFHbQL_f0rhHIN3ZjRidofyOTfQcq9KIZrvCwPvFUIYmk23G4cLnib3hjeME8ylozCKa4RqC4Z3cegoBslnkO_LRWp0KvKqjah3BeWLksKTlgMzzKXXeftzAxSCcqwgJReJAyLnjPgj08/s320/107.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557061822795871282" /></a><br /><br />He then showed us what too much cider will do to you.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikzbqq6t_YfUZB1vUOf2rkqU_ceocKLoK7aIrf8gpmCMU5iMvnmYP16eKzx1ofGC3zYwvr_rjxpD4NJVEz4o5aaVLzM1JG5jLRsecTnM8Yq-PTnFwFKzS6vWE54F89hKLb4_vZDv2JMFba/s1600/110.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikzbqq6t_YfUZB1vUOf2rkqU_ceocKLoK7aIrf8gpmCMU5iMvnmYP16eKzx1ofGC3zYwvr_rjxpD4NJVEz4o5aaVLzM1JG5jLRsecTnM8Yq-PTnFwFKzS6vWE54F89hKLb4_vZDv2JMFba/s320/110.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557061396309051106" /></a><br /><br />Then, he said he didn’t want anymore, but in proper three-year-old behavior, he changed his mind, threw his light stick and started crying on my shoulder. Beware future college buddies of Carter; 2am isn’t going to be pretty…Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-4278117639453180932010-12-30T23:09:00.016-05:002010-12-31T01:52:05.305-05:00Day 4 -WOW!Emily’s Wish Day 4 It’s hard to believe that our day was filled with even more magic. Our slumber was uninterrupted last night and Drew was miraculously feeling much better (although he knew Universal Studios and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter might be put on the back burner in favor of going to the Doctor) but we decided to have breakfast in the village prior to deciding. <br /><br />This was the first “meal” we ate at the village that wasn’t delivered due to our schedule and illnesses and we couldn’t have been more impressed. Not only was it a high quality meal served cafeteria style with hot and cold buffets and servers at each station, but volunteers throughout to assist who even carried our trays to the tables for us. An interesting note, GKTW does have some employees, but so many activities and services are provided by volunteers. I spoke with a server in the hot food line, who was here with her husband and daughter and told me that when they come down from Wisconsin to visit her father, they always spend a day here to volunteer! She also told me that many of the young volunteers that were here today are from church youth group that drove down from Georgia! <br /><br />After breakfast, we went to the Safari Theatre to meet Mickey and Minnie who come to the village twice every week to give guests the chance to interact with them. We were able to take lots of pictures and share some moments in our special outfits that we were going to wear to meet those special mice on Tuesday had we not been interrupted by Emily’s sudden illness. (Yes, Aimee was washing and ironing late into the night.) Brenna and Minnie compared dresses and everyone enjoyed the special attention. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4V5MM1XqwRVupi82gMBw_lXj_2Rp8v2KD9CiE02_XVABlh6m2_clwN07TdEnzspcoHD2kqC5NqmGTKCHJNfenqz78CMx59x9yeKGPF5TKAC2eshJwCV6kjaWCokjnKXfYLacFgtulBM8/s1600/009.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4V5MM1XqwRVupi82gMBw_lXj_2Rp8v2KD9CiE02_XVABlh6m2_clwN07TdEnzspcoHD2kqC5NqmGTKCHJNfenqz78CMx59x9yeKGPF5TKAC2eshJwCV6kjaWCokjnKXfYLacFgtulBM8/s320/009.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556706119770617714" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0L4GRpm5yKXMbqmyQp9T_ipDVuWGmxYHqvNOfJvuQvQoKB23pEXTWajf9ck_piSngO21hi4QsG6BIOhVkkI_BPMuOVCEU6P7-z7xN_b7M5n-pPerQZf-INdWSjQ5qL4cjk9XfuLYes8z/s1600/022.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0L4GRpm5yKXMbqmyQp9T_ipDVuWGmxYHqvNOfJvuQvQoKB23pEXTWajf9ck_piSngO21hi4QsG6BIOhVkkI_BPMuOVCEU6P7-z7xN_b7M5n-pPerQZf-INdWSjQ5qL4cjk9XfuLYes8z/s320/022.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556706117793480562" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdvtwYjJHxWq2BDnUAXfQT0nENm2pQduU92ShnUbiX0QF3ILc1Dh6lWh_J6eJLWhvdGibD4fkhNpn1eGl12TINjnjv0eGHYn2x9SFwCeAL_7ldUn3aQVeLTYT60t7mDGa6KCWBDU8j1T-/s1600/024.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdvtwYjJHxWq2BDnUAXfQT0nENm2pQduU92ShnUbiX0QF3ILc1Dh6lWh_J6eJLWhvdGibD4fkhNpn1eGl12TINjnjv0eGHYn2x9SFwCeAL_7ldUn3aQVeLTYT60t7mDGa6KCWBDU8j1T-/s320/024.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556706123563361634" /></a><br /><br />The big surprise was when we returned to the vestibule, Belle was waiting and RECOGNIZED us from yesterday. This time she wasn’t wearing her Christmas dress, but her more familiar blue and white and gave all our gang the attention they wanted. First Brenna asked for a kiss. After Belle obliged, Carter said, ”I want a kiss too!” Belle granted our handsome blue eyed prince his wish only to see Drew sidestep closely toward Belle with a sheepish grin. I’ll let the photos tells the rest of the story! <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDtbev8-sJEhQyDJOMCtHsp3G0dqmn14LputeodG6AuvxiJsKjs6yu2dUr48Y4i1o06oZbXXSxgF5iLw8e2TCfuD0Qz2Jh1cZB8k4MvOF7dRr5qSm3aYHvxqgvFYyar0SiZZrtc3b4PHx/s1600/032.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDtbev8-sJEhQyDJOMCtHsp3G0dqmn14LputeodG6AuvxiJsKjs6yu2dUr48Y4i1o06oZbXXSxgF5iLw8e2TCfuD0Qz2Jh1cZB8k4MvOF7dRr5qSm3aYHvxqgvFYyar0SiZZrtc3b4PHx/s320/032.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556724457635502482" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjknRBGP_Gte7xJOXt6IO8FVl-d2q34sBVdkYBnq76iXVnGv3rdEgZwghFomYMuzqnwR80EqxhVoLw2DlCthI1JfE43fHEltVHoZbcGD-6P-wqawGD6cvKlVkaMxUTIscxBLd0mvAEKttj/s1600/033.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjknRBGP_Gte7xJOXt6IO8FVl-d2q34sBVdkYBnq76iXVnGv3rdEgZwghFomYMuzqnwR80EqxhVoLw2DlCthI1JfE43fHEltVHoZbcGD-6P-wqawGD6cvKlVkaMxUTIscxBLd0mvAEKttj/s320/033.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556724453708234818" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nzLoX7tjuychwX1Tv4u2CXSSEtixx3mtSY4dGhjB62_LVghWMR1-nShorXLiZwNqf_urwjlgYtOp1Il07u_jCQ3CyMMtkVZ4ZtOZUuioAL2_HFYj0eDZedLoFVxqIiXcy7AuIB72Kt48/s1600/035.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nzLoX7tjuychwX1Tv4u2CXSSEtixx3mtSY4dGhjB62_LVghWMR1-nShorXLiZwNqf_urwjlgYtOp1Il07u_jCQ3CyMMtkVZ4ZtOZUuioAL2_HFYj0eDZedLoFVxqIiXcy7AuIB72Kt48/s320/035.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556724451523768338" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJlYVj9K4HFFmoe9GwAFe4ZoThMTrYthsjgvxoEUNSYmS3x75tAK-8FxdhdImzHwEuXBaiJFUSdX7YzMqF-1v6VdvDJrS0Bl2rlLDTBDfDVXLVoimsn-cJri_7vvFUq8J9Jslw_paBfgj6/s1600/036.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJlYVj9K4HFFmoe9GwAFe4ZoThMTrYthsjgvxoEUNSYmS3x75tAK-8FxdhdImzHwEuXBaiJFUSdX7YzMqF-1v6VdvDJrS0Bl2rlLDTBDfDVXLVoimsn-cJri_7vvFUq8J9Jslw_paBfgj6/s320/036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556724440684660290" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKwDMlqveGZWt7a0J9DDhXnOg1H4bbWarUpnOVHtJEhK4WmyauslAcTkAazWf_FBoI1lCo_bci0BJvscDkXtoxCkuUWxQkkASNY2uyC640LABW7Y8sDQawCxwYZfDiqAd_g_EaPeFUdNc/s1600/037.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKwDMlqveGZWt7a0J9DDhXnOg1H4bbWarUpnOVHtJEhK4WmyauslAcTkAazWf_FBoI1lCo_bci0BJvscDkXtoxCkuUWxQkkASNY2uyC640LABW7Y8sDQawCxwYZfDiqAd_g_EaPeFUdNc/s320/037.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556724437616411714" /></a><br /><br /><br />When we stepped outside, Goofy and Pluto were also available for some autographs and photos. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EBqf5JhEU79-vu21ECGERmxhWmzST80pzf_mA-OvBhav-Rb9vosTCMQB5m2WflV7v5LJ9ObKshFXZ6mHZRoZcSp5D51hASG4iXkkzdNYXTV2jOfFa4-zRoAltBR7R0sTMgLolAlmyyKD/s1600/040.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EBqf5JhEU79-vu21ECGERmxhWmzST80pzf_mA-OvBhav-Rb9vosTCMQB5m2WflV7v5LJ9ObKshFXZ6mHZRoZcSp5D51hASG4iXkkzdNYXTV2jOfFa4-zRoAltBR7R0sTMgLolAlmyyKD/s320/040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556725751431540562" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQ9vCUTio-RcSWLl2X2p6665nXlzLxlIfWseT0b6nq2YmYMm6QVuE7DSEZFMLzKY0x2wY6bB3_xOUAWT37qFF90wi2VE_pJ8hcnqnNrgtgi4WudqcBRA_7yRhEJ32Csy6YPbv9CGqI67S/s1600/052.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQ9vCUTio-RcSWLl2X2p6665nXlzLxlIfWseT0b6nq2YmYMm6QVuE7DSEZFMLzKY0x2wY6bB3_xOUAWT37qFF90wi2VE_pJ8hcnqnNrgtgi4WudqcBRA_7yRhEJ32Csy6YPbv9CGqI67S/s320/052.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556725747160991490" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLoCdpu9ZatpmPDMLQmJeslv4lG33mbXw9PvlOTp1d8QSeb5pgpy5ZB-Kbm8M7Gn46UOYezqi2lDUbXuL4X1IVvtUdttCggAB665HrlveUzRaDwLMifXSWFJiIXbW2Jlt4jQPe9osbPs1W/s1600/062.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLoCdpu9ZatpmPDMLQmJeslv4lG33mbXw9PvlOTp1d8QSeb5pgpy5ZB-Kbm8M7Gn46UOYezqi2lDUbXuL4X1IVvtUdttCggAB665HrlveUzRaDwLMifXSWFJiIXbW2Jlt4jQPe9osbPs1W/s320/062.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556725742617729362" /></a><br /><br />At this point since Drew was feeling ok and we expected the crowds at Universal would be crazier or New Years Eve, we decided to make an attempt at getting a wand at Olivanders and a Chocolate Frog at Honeydukes for Drew. COSTUME CHANGE! We were “allowed” to wear Philadelphia Eagles gear for our trip to Universal!<br /><br /> As it turns out, we’ll likely not find out if the crowds are crazier tomorrow, but the roads were crazy and the sign as we entered made both Aimee’s and my heart sink: “Islands of Adventure is at Capacity.” This is, of course, where The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is located. We persevered, figuring at some point someone would leave, and they’d reopen. We parked, entered and had to go into the stand by line for a few minutes until an alert attendant saw Emily’s GKTW button and welcomed us to the entry gate right away! We entered and started to weave our way around the park to find Ollivander’s wand shop, noting the crowds were getting thicker the further we ventured. Emily briefly spit up and had to change her shirt (Aarrrgh! my one oufit choice!), but I forgive her, Seussland is indeed a little too much to handle on a sensitive tummy!<br /><br /> As we reached Hogsmeade, the potential for fulfilling Drew’s dream was starting to fade, as the lines were long and wide. It didn’t seem realistic that our trio of three-year-olds would be able to relax in line for over an hour, or for Aimee to navigate the double stroller and Emily’s Kid Cart through the park if I remained with Drew. I asked the line attendant about the length of the wait, because I couldn’t even see the end of the line. He said we’d have to leave the double stroller up front while waiting in line, because it couldn’t make the turns, and used the word, queue, which was entertaining, because even though I knew the word, and knew this guy was from the UK, for a brief moment I was completely lost. Ask Aimee, it was pretty funny… The happy ending is that while we discussed Emily’s Kid Cart, he noticed her GKTW button, and said we didn’t need to wait in the “queue” at all; we should stand to the side and we could participate in the next show. We waited a grand total of two minutes until we were escorted in towards the right while everyone else filed in towards the right. I’ll let the video tell the rest of the tale…<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rOpeHNcYVgU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rOpeHNcYVgU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /> Please do me a favor and even if you don’t normally comment, please leave a comment about how cool that experience was for Drew and how lucky he is. Aunt Mary sent me a text message after I told her and he was tickled by her reaction. Thanks in advance… : ) <br /><br />After Ollivander’s, we were off to search for chocolate frogs that come with wizard and witch cards, just like in the book. The coolest part of the Harry Potter experience is that I read the first Harry Potter book before the craze took off, and even read it with my students in the Challenge Program in Galloway all those years ago. Then, this July I relived the magic one chapter at a time reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone aloud with Drew at bedtime. We even watched the first movie after we finished. We agreed to wait until next summer for the next installment, but I think that may happen sooner. We found his Frog (His card was Rowena Ravenclaw) and he was thrilled. Aimee and I were equally thrilled when we got in the butterbeer line and finally were able to enjoy the coolest treat available to Muggles… <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDSy0l8kWpKiLbbH6Z_u7rMBvHzSfKrEIZN4v531PA3NXmDMSzLzSUSgjKn6bKEkkDaTJPtkyTm9KBKkO26OaUdNnjFi-qDgo3OX80r4cG-iOY3efKR9sV8vEMaLiAthFbFQiauN8S8WD/s1600/093.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDSy0l8kWpKiLbbH6Z_u7rMBvHzSfKrEIZN4v531PA3NXmDMSzLzSUSgjKn6bKEkkDaTJPtkyTm9KBKkO26OaUdNnjFi-qDgo3OX80r4cG-iOY3efKR9sV8vEMaLiAthFbFQiauN8S8WD/s320/093.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556726481663611586" /></a><br /><br /><br />We landed back in Seussland and went on the Caro-Seuss-el where Emily’s cart was able to be rolled on and latched down, and we all rode together. They told us we could all stay on and ride a second time, but Emily slept through it and, besides, we had more plans for today. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYz2jfGMJSIosg45Khu6tqDdilNdXSC1WVbSlOZLazYpP6v5dTy4Q44i3lbTj_8VPqYUfGv_qsLIysddwUywQFoPbPCUXf4omHOSmkgW8UnHdol2ztSGW5DfatoXdMhgVds7YeUX2SdLo/s1600/107.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYz2jfGMJSIosg45Khu6tqDdilNdXSC1WVbSlOZLazYpP6v5dTy4Q44i3lbTj_8VPqYUfGv_qsLIysddwUywQFoPbPCUXf4omHOSmkgW8UnHdol2ztSGW5DfatoXdMhgVds7YeUX2SdLo/s320/107.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556727043719103058" /></a><br />Aimee found “Thing 1”, “Thing 2”, and “Thing 3” t-shirts for our trio and we were on our way back home in no time.<br /><br />When we arrived back at the villa we rested a bit and COSTUME CHANGE! Thursday night is Christmas every week at GKTW. We dressed in festive colors and went to dinner, where Elaine sat with our kids while Aimee and I stood in line for turkey dinner with all the trimmings. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXW3jwjqAKbyjsly0fgVxPhKU1RyKB2Fh0PVggSrfk_79QxdvB511Dqxv75IF4aqaVJKiHigFwlvrqukE8oC4l4LFagU3KOlq0qxuwGObKnViB9YqU216kxjqSaaJM_8fPUbErH4y0V4Lg/s1600/108.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXW3jwjqAKbyjsly0fgVxPhKU1RyKB2Fh0PVggSrfk_79QxdvB511Dqxv75IF4aqaVJKiHigFwlvrqukE8oC4l4LFagU3KOlq0qxuwGObKnViB9YqU216kxjqSaaJM_8fPUbErH4y0V4Lg/s320/108.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556727742842632642" /></a><br /><br />After we finished dinner, we went back to the Safari Theatre, which was newly decorated in a Christmas theme and Santa himself was there for photos. Afterward, each of the children were allowed to select a gift, which was exciting for all. We then watched a choir sing some carols. They invited Brenna (and Carter and Drew) to join in the bell ringing and got a fan for life. She stayed with them for most of the performance… <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixQvMiJflA53BFwcb9V3XDha4m87yEJ3xl3xepBeB-kaV4iotPbnoSq_6M93Z1jmQCTBE8SYXcTgPmz4PfPJ2LcezTnE0ek3T05y8E-VeWWjbU0C-VaQU3_4sRqNq5VxEFRSSgY4ZZ0Aj/s1600/120.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixQvMiJflA53BFwcb9V3XDha4m87yEJ3xl3xepBeB-kaV4iotPbnoSq_6M93Z1jmQCTBE8SYXcTgPmz4PfPJ2LcezTnE0ek3T05y8E-VeWWjbU0C-VaQU3_4sRqNq5VxEFRSSgY4ZZ0Aj/s320/120.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556730547356924002" /></a><br />Then we enjoyed ice cream cones and waited for the parade. Then it was time to join the parade at the end in singing, dancing and a with a “snow” machine. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIsMHY2lwrUnMpbq-bUiNGPhohWvA66aWiI6pCKA7ujEsgv5mnA3gCbs9cc4RcC7uBk-n50QFRXsjGA8QwwfblUhyPLOoTo0FlddEesP1zGU4JyH_Q9yJdzlbf3h2Y9Vp6zCNHkUZH1bTH/s1600/149.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIsMHY2lwrUnMpbq-bUiNGPhohWvA66aWiI6pCKA7ujEsgv5mnA3gCbs9cc4RcC7uBk-n50QFRXsjGA8QwwfblUhyPLOoTo0FlddEesP1zGU4JyH_Q9yJdzlbf3h2Y9Vp6zCNHkUZH1bTH/s320/149.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556734623232120386" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ojB0GQVpQTMAb2cUAr-b1s2k2rB2e38TxKg0xeN2f14wMfRsUNBL53PzqDFS8JWRCW05vQy69DbALFz-8b01sjQhH2Sh67MeMkWTj4qh0up-1UT4Is6vjQthV7KrYRQYFIREMPRMJmii/s1600/141.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ojB0GQVpQTMAb2cUAr-b1s2k2rB2e38TxKg0xeN2f14wMfRsUNBL53PzqDFS8JWRCW05vQy69DbALFz-8b01sjQhH2Sh67MeMkWTj4qh0up-1UT4Is6vjQthV7KrYRQYFIREMPRMJmii/s320/141.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556734620302643666" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3sqyfzS9FmK2zv8Gzt_MCNPza60k6eq-jq5Qfh43D7Piv1_Iyw3RUwIr-S4uxwcU2SFAbMKAJphYaNAdLXPOTfEzzRMlvcbmu2QE27FpnyjiBvNVYTMyE36eeD93QQA9DQB_SwvBQcw7/s1600/151.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3sqyfzS9FmK2zv8Gzt_MCNPza60k6eq-jq5Qfh43D7Piv1_Iyw3RUwIr-S4uxwcU2SFAbMKAJphYaNAdLXPOTfEzzRMlvcbmu2QE27FpnyjiBvNVYTMyE36eeD93QQA9DQB_SwvBQcw7/s320/151.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556734617950563378" /></a><br /><br /><br />Everyone says that Disney is magical and I know I’ve spoken about how wonderful Give Kids the World Village and Universal Studios have been, and even wrote about the “pixie dust” from the Dis-Boutiquers. The one constant here is the kindness of others. The Make a Wish Foundation, GKTW, and other charitable organizations that send people here do it with donations from companies and individuals, and the volunteer hours from so many people. In addition, we had some friends and family bless us with gift cards and gifts to help us really enjoy ourselves on this trip. I want to thank you all for letting me “let go” and allow the kids to pick a souvenir when they wanted it and not scoff at the price. To not have to plan out a picnic lunch because park prices are ridiculous, or get upset that we bought diapers (insert shudder here) without a coupon. For one week, we were able to say “yes” to all our kids and allow them the freedom to feel like any dream could come true and that nothing was out of reach. And Aimee had a week without me complaining about the cost of gas or the need to wait for things to be on sale. This trip has been so incredible and honestly, I had no idea it would be as emotional and invigorating as it has been. I’ll end this post with, Merry Christmas, because it’s Thursday, and at Give Kids the World, that means it is indeed, Christmas.Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-34443958367744635612010-12-29T22:18:00.016-05:002010-12-29T23:30:13.942-05:00Emily's trip Day 3Emily’s Wish Day 3<br />Well, the laundry is still being completed more often than we’d like, but you have to keep your perspective. Our kids get sick every year, this year they are being sick at the happiest place on Earth.<br />Emily woke us at 3:30 with another round of dirtying sheets and blankets. Not cool, but she was able to settle down and sleep the rest of the morning. I gradually felt better throughout the day, and the weather warmed up a bit, although still a bit too cold for Emily.<br />Drew came in to get us this morning already wearing his Epcot shirt. <em>–Here might be a good place to tell our readers about the “DisBoutiquers”. This is a large group of INCREDIBLY TALENTED and EXTREMELY GENEROUS ladies who met Aimee on a Disney board when we first learned about Emily’s trip. Starting in the middle of November, we received gifts in the mail (Referred to as THE BIG GIVE) nearly every other day or so up until we left. In all we received between 20-25 packages in the mail. Each package was a true gift from the heart, either handmade or purchased with our trip in mind. Hats, bows, dresses, shirts, pajamas, personalized ornaments, things to keep the kids busy, and even gift cards to use at the park is just the beginning of the list. The kind notes sent along with the gifts often touched our hearts as it really is just absolute kindness in the greatest form. The Gives really excited the kids and pumped them up for what a great experience we’re having. So outside of my fear of being “that guy” we’ve been wearing thematic matching outfits to each park and did actually have a costume change today. We look really great in our well-planned combinations, despite my original nightmares of my family showing up in matching newsboy hats and argyle Disney sweaters at the next family gathering(they've been know to mock our Christmas outfits) to mock us. It will have been worth the mockery, as the oohs and ahs from the passersby who asked Aimee if she made the outfi€ts and we told them about these sweet ladies who still believe in the spirit of giving. All the advice and support they’ve given Aimee in planning this trip has really been a blessing. I hope they know just how much it meant to us. –</em> Anyway… Drew came in to get us this morning already wearing his Epcot shirt. He was so excited, and we did get off to a faster start. We were on the road by 9am. We had originally planned to go to EPCOT this morning and then go to Animal Kingdom in the afternoon, but we instead went to Hollywood Studios, so we could see the things we planned to see yesterday. <br />We went to EPCOT today because of the surprise Aimee had planned – a reservation in Norway at Akershus, for brunch and a photo with Belle. Because we were early, we stopped in Mexico and went on a real gem that we didn’t really remember, but that Emily and the rest of the kids enjoyed. The Three Caballeros was a boat ride similar to It’s a Small World. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFzs8hHYI00Urhxi4L_OJTMx0vhmyWSf3pp35etaFUo1POw3zZVxpMVdxo9u7tPGfg87IOpxbJiR6NFq0SAdPm_1qHXainKpnKFryAfnk8ejmLBGofu1NsPobKWom59CPHcYQ_rVwJstr/s1600/017.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFzs8hHYI00Urhxi4L_OJTMx0vhmyWSf3pp35etaFUo1POw3zZVxpMVdxo9u7tPGfg87IOpxbJiR6NFq0SAdPm_1qHXainKpnKFryAfnk8ejmLBGofu1NsPobKWom59CPHcYQ_rVwJstr/s320/017.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556311083235658098" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpE13c_m3M41XkpMwziJap_-gLqwaNyjmUvsiZdO3uFKCYdm-kkIceLSCzAvQ4xoq6OOEXteFPlk4bijb0m9lHqCpoyjl8Ub6IqXYNc01TverNzV7dFbtezdL8rvKzdW1H4eQlgzEIKlo-/s1600/016.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpE13c_m3M41XkpMwziJap_-gLqwaNyjmUvsiZdO3uFKCYdm-kkIceLSCzAvQ4xoq6OOEXteFPlk4bijb0m9lHqCpoyjl8Ub6IqXYNc01TverNzV7dFbtezdL8rvKzdW1H4eQlgzEIKlo-/s320/016.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556311077559771122" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVNxK-ahQ7T_lTjiLHlDVQ0XUjB3LdxCIjI_V_9VQNg3RxRt7c4farUoQHLVZS3mT4tgcm0-AYodTZ2mNC_vM1JfxT0YKYgbPNFKv_I2Cbg4dYtq2Yhac3aqylBHBuvlpRdVFTlODvQkO/s1600/015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVNxK-ahQ7T_lTjiLHlDVQ0XUjB3LdxCIjI_V_9VQNg3RxRt7c4farUoQHLVZS3mT4tgcm0-AYodTZ2mNC_vM1JfxT0YKYgbPNFKv_I2Cbg4dYtq2Yhac3aqylBHBuvlpRdVFTlODvQkO/s320/015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556311078716564338" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eMCHQ7PyPbhOufQ7aa8fPqUD53XgNlvXGRnisbMnR1nvazMJe2tilnCf44P9ZueIAmpGjMm4xJ1-khsf8QDm6aQbI1BdbIDba4bflvgZqiym92YpNPcved1WYd2jPrH7yJYKtvguzVg9/s1600/014.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eMCHQ7PyPbhOufQ7aa8fPqUD53XgNlvXGRnisbMnR1nvazMJe2tilnCf44P9ZueIAmpGjMm4xJ1-khsf8QDm6aQbI1BdbIDba4bflvgZqiym92YpNPcved1WYd2jPrH7yJYKtvguzVg9/s320/014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556311073138018018" /></a><br /><br />When we arrived in Norway, Emily was really upset by the cold and we were worried she would be sick again. You see, she was wearing her beautiful handmade Cinderella Dress and we couldn’t possibly allow her to be sad and sick when meeting the princesses! Brenna was wearing her handmade Belle dress and Carter was wearing his Prince shirt my Aunt Sue made for him. Our gang was getting a lot of second looks as we strolled through the park in such super cute outfits. Anyway, I brought Emily inside while Aimee waited outside with the rest of the kids and Em calmed down after a few minutes. She did, however, start crying immediately when we were invited to get her picture taken with Belle and briefly spit up on her matching bib but the photo turned out nice, despite the drama. Belle was very convincing and sweet with all the kids. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWygf5VWzC4h5p46YIq0CoraxzSzEroJCfNrHAB7Jw8LY56LAQO-SZApj0Q2FdmE5n3lwTXpJsa8OU5UsY-cWlF5o5qlfhAHycCvy5NwveH_VDbYoLXDhSIsEZxt5OYAIjNvcFbQniLnCd/s1600/022.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWygf5VWzC4h5p46YIq0CoraxzSzEroJCfNrHAB7Jw8LY56LAQO-SZApj0Q2FdmE5n3lwTXpJsa8OU5UsY-cWlF5o5qlfhAHycCvy5NwveH_VDbYoLXDhSIsEZxt5OYAIjNvcFbQniLnCd/s320/022.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556311084904172882" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcZ76chB6g7Xkao78qGePUz6Gzh0fvK2e1fNqm0rXIy3Y_PT6F4UVcWhN4LLaOo0e5DSltHwW81z27c89X87AZpDka3imDrUgOOu3LCLPEAVw6gL20z2a8N65C5CC8jxPepjoV6W4qqjb/s1600/034.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcZ76chB6g7Xkao78qGePUz6Gzh0fvK2e1fNqm0rXIy3Y_PT6F4UVcWhN4LLaOo0e5DSltHwW81z27c89X87AZpDka3imDrUgOOu3LCLPEAVw6gL20z2a8N65C5CC8jxPepjoV6W4qqjb/s320/034.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556316689386837426" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiMozINHvb8rPV6iLN8OyeLsryIJXsDJfeIwD_w4ltucRw8YZ8J1fQs9Rp5vwUt33vBuEbu-qKnJdzsNEp29YeOCN39Ukb3WIPvJydShyJzqPoiTL8lx79so78d9RMRZNRINKaW5Smf7C/s1600/056.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiMozINHvb8rPV6iLN8OyeLsryIJXsDJfeIwD_w4ltucRw8YZ8J1fQs9Rp5vwUt33vBuEbu-qKnJdzsNEp29YeOCN39Ukb3WIPvJydShyJzqPoiTL8lx79so78d9RMRZNRINKaW5Smf7C/s320/056.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556321596279334946" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_R8L0h40qZPWTpHbc2eFvOX6TnFQmVbU8vTkpVzvcAS6GyTwcMlLYbwcgsG1l8L2YDrua6Zr-FHj4b6CUoGuICkUBGhyphenhyphenbQLFmanxy05U7XOnfOo9KqBtSqVfwvTjGBrEFSv1Am_fdOZD7/s1600/052.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_R8L0h40qZPWTpHbc2eFvOX6TnFQmVbU8vTkpVzvcAS6GyTwcMlLYbwcgsG1l8L2YDrua6Zr-FHj4b6CUoGuICkUBGhyphenhyphenbQLFmanxy05U7XOnfOo9KqBtSqVfwvTjGBrEFSv1Am_fdOZD7/s320/052.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556321592809088530" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11tCtyWSvQC4E42TawUp14qZQ7jdT0VGfWUz9qGQjzf-drpEXmdJ8ApaQ_9g6RyVvm4PfmOrQYW2FwN6QW1eHTevohsEbKUyOIxx9gRtnXtVXgTVy6EVGUshemH5WH4QqEE3ptA68oCV6/s1600/043.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11tCtyWSvQC4E42TawUp14qZQ7jdT0VGfWUz9qGQjzf-drpEXmdJ8ApaQ_9g6RyVvm4PfmOrQYW2FwN6QW1eHTevohsEbKUyOIxx9gRtnXtVXgTVy6EVGUshemH5WH4QqEE3ptA68oCV6/s320/043.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556318297129007298" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKs15LrMzT86KWAtJBgxazvVGT4jD6XKthtCyVKR_CMELKLYc_-2hmiyOIplEuz00VrktEf2Hh400s4X6ujdzfgZ87Ld0LDmCwobqOVOGj2BvDunZeDOgzvggegtDPmgfUQvG117iSLEtS/s1600/047.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKs15LrMzT86KWAtJBgxazvVGT4jD6XKthtCyVKR_CMELKLYc_-2hmiyOIplEuz00VrktEf2Hh400s4X6ujdzfgZ87Ld0LDmCwobqOVOGj2BvDunZeDOgzvggegtDPmgfUQvG117iSLEtS/s320/047.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556318278692073170" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGOnMYiFIwz9cDD48JIbe3zMFnlbsJehmxhtVQ-Dnsaq_GrKfDAGgOzIo7_DwD8ezhp2aj02q4PhUm6AqYk3Vy0O3hk2fyhnjXPTwnOSyURppbYldle3UYf44rurd9ZndNIZuBMCMfWVz-/s1600/048.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGOnMYiFIwz9cDD48JIbe3zMFnlbsJehmxhtVQ-Dnsaq_GrKfDAGgOzIo7_DwD8ezhp2aj02q4PhUm6AqYk3Vy0O3hk2fyhnjXPTwnOSyURppbYldle3UYf44rurd9ZndNIZuBMCMfWVz-/s320/048.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556318282310349282" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3v0iwYAr3I-YnsL-AQvyLcPAjCBJHJKLYgXI3p2jfx-iYCcNK6CWSiUaCasdsLLaq4v2yv70JVIpBb-l_2KK3RMkrSfh9tH_Pvp3VC0f3j1-eSSZ07Gz11zihljKabyMT9CPeqYiteyvV/s1600/041.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3v0iwYAr3I-YnsL-AQvyLcPAjCBJHJKLYgXI3p2jfx-iYCcNK6CWSiUaCasdsLLaq4v2yv70JVIpBb-l_2KK3RMkrSfh9tH_Pvp3VC0f3j1-eSSZ07Gz11zihljKabyMT9CPeqYiteyvV/s320/041.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556318275769831170" /></a><br /><br /><br />The brunch was good and included visits from Snow White, Jasmine, Mulan, and Mary Poppins. Mulan spent plenty of time at our table, clearly pausing for photos and making a memorable experience for us and Mary Poppins paraded around the room not once, but twice with Carter and Brenna in each hand. This personalized experience was very special and will be remembered fondly. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bSgo7p_vNSIVP6JtOE8dpG3rPZgKH7vL1ZPcOubvujzaspNUHIyFxVDZ1y6pjvlsgWT01uQaarf2Bl3dKUn6HnINhHrT2nRA500mSsv8YyJmsihID677iKAUZCikWZ2I8uc1xcaCvWLQ/s1600/059.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bSgo7p_vNSIVP6JtOE8dpG3rPZgKH7vL1ZPcOubvujzaspNUHIyFxVDZ1y6pjvlsgWT01uQaarf2Bl3dKUn6HnINhHrT2nRA500mSsv8YyJmsihID677iKAUZCikWZ2I8uc1xcaCvWLQ/s320/059.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556321602270876082" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZABq0FKz26VwljaEO9wxkyq1v65R3g-n_K5XTKfwmgDOZoFhoZBV0iU_r7WrhZLc_qXuEVZOcDiqs6Pe8aVccybVS9fUHj5UuRj7VIvPJp0R6veiaUdN65Q2p7si-x9_RLLDnepJ2guR/s1600/067.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZABq0FKz26VwljaEO9wxkyq1v65R3g-n_K5XTKfwmgDOZoFhoZBV0iU_r7WrhZLc_qXuEVZOcDiqs6Pe8aVccybVS9fUHj5UuRj7VIvPJp0R6veiaUdN65Q2p7si-x9_RLLDnepJ2guR/s320/067.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556323615791951234" /></a><br /><br />After the brunch we visited Journey Into Imagination, starring Figment(Who Aimee defends furiously to the non-believers) where Em didn’t love the ride, but didn’t get sick either. Otherwise, the kids loved the cheap jokes and gags, especially the skunk spray.<br />Next, we entered The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Turtle Talk with Crush which was enjoyed by everyone. We briefly visited the Siemens VIP lounge (by special invitation) where we had some time to clean Emily and decide on our gameplan. Since everyone seemed up to it, we ventured to Hollywood Studios. <br />Our first stop was an early dinner at Backlot Express which overlooked the Jedi Training show. Drew wanted to do it, but the time invested wasn’t fair for everyone, especially since we already saw the show, so he settled for a souvenir from the Tatooine gift shop. We found Mater and McQueen from Cars, which was Carter’s big plan for the whole trip. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiA9Juo1saX_SyP8lIN8effzgS-CG5mp38YARILd64YO4TIfcudQxJDu87ioC85dTt4OsN37wsdCK_6kb0F3zSNBRPfyn-XN_xCcFH-TF1WBrfOfU2Q2HptGuQPDVeZFkgeKlwC9q5W-sz/s1600/076.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiA9Juo1saX_SyP8lIN8effzgS-CG5mp38YARILd64YO4TIfcudQxJDu87ioC85dTt4OsN37wsdCK_6kb0F3zSNBRPfyn-XN_xCcFH-TF1WBrfOfU2Q2HptGuQPDVeZFkgeKlwC9q5W-sz/s320/076.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556325946314348866" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2KXZUkCdM1LUeRk4QCU0iTbgny_iemaaKhiPOo-wLwhRKZgQTTX9YL94fcXYTXuHmL4RNt45Z9GBsucW8Q_YBq6e58vPeXJGZv84a04jiW2xv81diua3t5DcXAAoCfsk5Lk4Su5a_wil/s1600/077.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2KXZUkCdM1LUeRk4QCU0iTbgny_iemaaKhiPOo-wLwhRKZgQTTX9YL94fcXYTXuHmL4RNt45Z9GBsucW8Q_YBq6e58vPeXJGZv84a04jiW2xv81diua3t5DcXAAoCfsk5Lk4Su5a_wil/s320/077.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556325949359058674" /></a><br /><br />Right before we saw Muppets 3-D, because I love the Muppets, Drew told Aimee that his ear hurt. By the time the show was over he was wincing about it. Unfortunately, we couldn’t leave until Emily could see the Osbornes Light Spectacular. Drew tried to be patient but was starting to cry because he really was hurting. Emily did enjoy the light show and was still awake the whole ride home, although Drew was asleep inside of 90 seconds, and Carter was out in five minutes. It would have been nice to stay and see the show a second time, but it was wonderful to see her truly enjoying the lights at all. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrIiGe37yXm1V0s4Hr-9_Fy1YbVoClm_9ac2FPCW7l6xeUKMGyvCZ6kwoAgb5hHHK2KNolFutD1QW24XWdttJNMgxXxia_xugSEMx6PTRMMG7z-bp1pmw2sBUtoVz-YT0L9e_Ed8PHHCK/s1600/078.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrIiGe37yXm1V0s4Hr-9_Fy1YbVoClm_9ac2FPCW7l6xeUKMGyvCZ6kwoAgb5hHHK2KNolFutD1QW24XWdttJNMgxXxia_xugSEMx6PTRMMG7z-bp1pmw2sBUtoVz-YT0L9e_Ed8PHHCK/s320/078.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556325953254959634" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wXk_VtJffDRz59rsNMhu5tZyeaFndvp6erk-vdCD8jaAAyiZE2Xxg7GwToW63mmHPzLdTiXXT59rcWjj_zLb8buoyb1W1bib_gxHXAs4qhk1jGW4KcOBkn9h8ZTmomy2MXkdV8fQuIbU/s1600/079.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wXk_VtJffDRz59rsNMhu5tZyeaFndvp6erk-vdCD8jaAAyiZE2Xxg7GwToW63mmHPzLdTiXXT59rcWjj_zLb8buoyb1W1bib_gxHXAs4qhk1jGW4KcOBkn9h8ZTmomy2MXkdV8fQuIbU/s320/079.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556325959238363058" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDET95RtqEaUYm-Hpw3imJCLNN3tz8tqO-zHOPSGW4CfLlk6G-cpYeFaF7Bvd86kIYkNpf-DqvuqAyS7UL_4KntDWwWmjIlpY21jjq3c6ePz-PSksTRMzsOK0o8y0ZbYff3eiphefB96t/s1600/084.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDET95RtqEaUYm-Hpw3imJCLNN3tz8tqO-zHOPSGW4CfLlk6G-cpYeFaF7Bvd86kIYkNpf-DqvuqAyS7UL_4KntDWwWmjIlpY21jjq3c6ePz-PSksTRMzsOK0o8y0ZbYff3eiphefB96t/s320/084.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556325965144122610" /></a><br /><br />We decided that we’ll likely alter our plans again for tomorrow, and we’ll likely stay at the village and participate in some of the events offered on site and determine if Drew needs to see a Doctor or not. <br />For now, I’ll have to check with our costume coordinator to see what we’ll be wearing tomorrow…Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-73065079669568650102010-12-28T20:53:00.012-05:002010-12-28T21:31:19.806-05:00Emily's Trip - Days 1-2Emily’s Wish Day 1<br />The unexpected snowfall was both unwelcome and inconvenient; however, it didn’t create any problems other than worries and several trips out to the driveway to shovel the accumulating snow. <br />Both NJ and PA had declared a state of emergency, so our scheduled driver couldn’t leave until 7am, causing us to be delayed about an hour. To be fair, the Make-A-Wish coordinator had him coming a little early because of the car seats to be sure we’d have enough time.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiiQpGmyllIsKS4iH_21bGUVtKPQPSSfVMOeCwl63AVXK8N3X3au_6_LnNOhgQU3rWBOnrhCaGbJfuhy1FP4I_ad6FrBjNitu-bnkpVxvJ0Fj7gMAr5Nk17EWhTUSsT_gDWOIpCPmuiqng/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiiQpGmyllIsKS4iH_21bGUVtKPQPSSfVMOeCwl63AVXK8N3X3au_6_LnNOhgQU3rWBOnrhCaGbJfuhy1FP4I_ad6FrBjNitu-bnkpVxvJ0Fj7gMAr5Nk17EWhTUSsT_gDWOIpCPmuiqng/s320/003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555918457799722034" /></a><br /> Jay was an excellent driver and had us at the airport in plenty of time and was a big help loading and unloading in the cold and wet weather. Once we were inside, it really wasn’t too bad until we got to the security checkpoint, only because we had so many carry-ons, so many kids, so many pairs of shoes, and so many jackets that we were still loading things into the machine with nobody to unload on the other end causing a bit of a pileup. Aimee dotted all her i’s and crossed all her t’s in regards to Emily’s medical bag, so that delay was even relatively short.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcclON91PubcTGHA70Ly-90l2wqWUs82WV0T4f2jQO-J7utNlmj2k_uIi0rLkDkDdcRN17WnxQntPwaCzIjKauJyKhJ7g8w2ZG-nUp6aiXK1ihIpYnuDUB0y-CbMBJVh2a_7pqIRe1X8YD/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcclON91PubcTGHA70Ly-90l2wqWUs82WV0T4f2jQO-J7utNlmj2k_uIi0rLkDkDdcRN17WnxQntPwaCzIjKauJyKhJ7g8w2ZG-nUp6aiXK1ihIpYnuDUB0y-CbMBJVh2a_7pqIRe1X8YD/s320/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555919210423120418" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoguFie50WWDlyrhOgr1BbwJqwQpUsG5EXHOebrrP9yB40KDe_UiPii7lpqNK5WUvPaTUU-TfqVH2t5Y0ERWJKxi7SVkITbs2wsiONDLgJ0_tHNKhylwToKspp79rz252tSUq60niTlEz/s1600/009.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoguFie50WWDlyrhOgr1BbwJqwQpUsG5EXHOebrrP9yB40KDe_UiPii7lpqNK5WUvPaTUU-TfqVH2t5Y0ERWJKxi7SVkITbs2wsiONDLgJ0_tHNKhylwToKspp79rz252tSUq60niTlEz/s320/009.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555920044651996098" /></a><br /> <br />The flight was right on time and we had priority boarding. The attendants were very helpful throughout and even though takeoff was EXTREMELY turbulent, our kids were shouting and screaming because they thought it was so fun! Even Emily was all smiles… Carter did get sick about an hour in, but was very happy that we had an identical shirt for him to change into (sometimes, OVER planning is just enough).<br />Once we landed, the GKTW greeter, Hope, met us and helped us to quickly find and move our baggage to the car rental garage. Once there, they told me to go pick a van. I found a Dodge Caravan and we loaded everyone in. When I started to put Em’s KidKart in, we realized we’d just hit our first major snag. It didn’t fit. It didn’t fit in any direction unfolded or folded. Once we admitted to ourselves that we’d have to start moving car seats into another van; Hope and I sought out a van that could hold Em’s chair. We ended up in a Sienna. If it had been white, I think the kids would have thought we’d had our own minivan shipped to Florida. <br />The kids were cranky, tired, and hungry. If you wonder why I didn’t include a lunch break in this detail filled post, it is because we never had any. Oops… <br />We arrived at GKTW and met another greeter, Don, who gave us the rundown of the village and escorted us to our villa. This place is beyond description. The playground across the street would be enough reason to fly down here. The carousel that is at ground level and wheelchair accessible is at the top of our list for the rest of the week, but for now, we needed to eat something. We called and ordered (Boston Market sponsored) chicken and meatloaf from Kate’s kitchen as well as took a ride to the ice cream parlor(Friendly’s) for dessert. Aimee went to the orientation to get our park passes and other info while I tended to the medicine, formula mixing and crankiness. Once Aimee returned, she led the bedtime routine and unpacked all the clothes and I went to Walmart for some essentials. <br />The kids enjoyed some made-up Disney songs as we tucked them in. Aimee’s lyrics rhyme better than mine, but we all have our weaknesses…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwo5bGEsQdygMPthx1Vvu3ZmEaoMWZNZB3asA6BwxRYhOKzTiy06jVAli-hda8Ex6MVo1A8ijfephwxTVkbEkV0NMyYYM9JpEuPti4dR0FOpNTF10jI4EO5ZN5pP4qk5uYEmyeQHEpUnnm/s1600/014.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwo5bGEsQdygMPthx1Vvu3ZmEaoMWZNZB3asA6BwxRYhOKzTiy06jVAli-hda8Ex6MVo1A8ijfephwxTVkbEkV0NMyYYM9JpEuPti4dR0FOpNTF10jI4EO5ZN5pP4qk5uYEmyeQHEpUnnm/s320/014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555920780798921330" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Emily’s Wish Day 2<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97K-4X8cC_PgmLT0RpNuUQ6S-acD8esKj0iEms-8jtSuXCaiKUaApqGQ2fblrtg62Z7z_suZau5bX7qC9xO90pyZhCJ6M1aD4ngSFyK3KWIuDqsqT6Ewsj6i0GGQCSVziQNBzmamiiJct/s1600/021.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97K-4X8cC_PgmLT0RpNuUQ6S-acD8esKj0iEms-8jtSuXCaiKUaApqGQ2fblrtg62Z7z_suZau5bX7qC9xO90pyZhCJ6M1aD4ngSFyK3KWIuDqsqT6Ewsj6i0GGQCSVziQNBzmamiiJct/s320/021.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555922221497180242" /></a><br /><br />A highly respected friend has a saying, “Some people wouldn’t be happy in Disneyworld.” Sadly, some people just can’t be pleased and can’t help but complain. Thankfully, there is nothing to complain about here. Our day was FANTASTIC. The kids got to see a parade, go on a few rides, enjoy some souvenirs, see some shows and see kindness from everyone. <br />The master plan was to dress in our Mickey Gear, go to Magic Kingdom in the morning, then do a costume change and check out Hollywood Studios. We set the alarm for 6:30, hoping to be out the door at quarter after eight…<br />At 6:30, Emily’s feeding ended and then she choked and became sick all over her beautiful personalized pillowcase. After four episodes, she calmed down, stopped crying, and fell sound asleep in her own mess while Aimee ran the bath water. During the early morning bath , Emily giggled throughout, while I put the laundry on*.) *Yes, GKTW not only provides a full size washer and dryer in the villa, but also enough detergent to do 2 loads each day!<br />Unfortunately, I too, started feeling nauseous and we were starting to question how to alter the schedule, but everyone was so excited about seeing the castle, and Emily seemed to be ok…<br />Drew, Brenna, and Carter got to try Matthew’s Boundless Playground which is a Candyland themed playground that is as accessible as possible for children with disabilities. They (of course) loved it and took turns running to colored spaces and can’t wait to go back.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-IFPH9-D7oN73QGEyooKxFsXJW4mOWsTGPd0lZmnTE9tFzMZINp2hpeTAEx1cRxcOlsEeLGb-cqbB3oSEjMw6dsY3XUx-FPgd2xqsfxAYkI26S0lWGvruMBc4GHbhp4VpkdEdsyqF9nU/s1600/019.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-IFPH9-D7oN73QGEyooKxFsXJW4mOWsTGPd0lZmnTE9tFzMZINp2hpeTAEx1cRxcOlsEeLGb-cqbB3oSEjMw6dsY3XUx-FPgd2xqsfxAYkI26S0lWGvruMBc4GHbhp4VpkdEdsyqF9nU/s320/019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555921506095102866" /></a><br /><br /><br />We finally left the village at 10am and the kids loved the monorail once we got to Magic Kingdom. Emily slept through the parade, but everyone else was wide-eyed throughout and we got our first Photo Pass picture taken (which ended up being the only time we saw a photographer the whole day, but we aren’t going to be unhappy in Disney World). <br />Aimee and I decided long ago that It’s a Small World would be our only “Must see” attraction, since we thought it was gentle enough for Emily, and there would be plenty of music, movement, and lights. It was our first ride, and I can honestly say we could come home tomorrow and I’d have no regrets. We were able to have her stay in her chair on a special boat and she(right on cue) opened her eyes and smiled throughout the entire ride.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlA9eAXC-3NXXlXfc1AqMeBbDQ_W4eEG83NMbgtbgBGkDkde7eAzYlfxwl4dRhkHgqS1Y7gEKjeQNOXlQhETKPafF1qHmqAM_bTpMgyDxr7qlwfIkCOaxksu36gt3xPawhsEUc1j5f7Lz/s1600/074.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlA9eAXC-3NXXlXfc1AqMeBbDQ_W4eEG83NMbgtbgBGkDkde7eAzYlfxwl4dRhkHgqS1Y7gEKjeQNOXlQhETKPafF1qHmqAM_bTpMgyDxr7qlwfIkCOaxksu36gt3xPawhsEUc1j5f7Lz/s320/074.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555923799297506738" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwejbcNET7ujozOIHtwsKppHC_E9vFzQmr7eRbZf6B-7mq3mFOSrwAeoqENR6EP0TORaGnI7b6QUNC7Gt81Ko-KDt3WPYPt75JxrKR-8gMBl3ZCrQPFmdeOArrf7prGCTDBM30tmZmyjL/s1600/044.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwejbcNET7ujozOIHtwsKppHC_E9vFzQmr7eRbZf6B-7mq3mFOSrwAeoqENR6EP0TORaGnI7b6QUNC7Gt81Ko-KDt3WPYPt75JxrKR-8gMBl3ZCrQPFmdeOArrf7prGCTDBM30tmZmyjL/s320/044.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555923118501842834" /></a><br /> <br />After lunch, we enjoyed the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. They even used a joke that Drew submitted. “What happens when a ghost falls down?” wait for it… “He gets a Boo Boo”. The kids all laughed and Emily stayed awake for the whole show. I guess she has a lot of Aimee in her, she also sleeps during boring things like car rides and conversations with me…but wakes up for the end of movies and game winning homeruns. Afterwards, Emily and I hung around while everyone else defeated the evil Zurg on the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. Carter and Drew each found Buzz Lightyear light up guns and we proceeded to another shop to get Minnie headbands for Emily and Brenna.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuD2OFH6lPV_TRW7GL0c6KFptI_23bsNJHJ_0xB3Jboq39e450LGrofFpYc44rMsB76RK-CCSxXWJLJ6aBpzR1W1jCjZzPzQJcStz6SlEIemNSkNauvJHPea4qu3eWDq5hLYCSQ0k0_MM/s1600/080.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuD2OFH6lPV_TRW7GL0c6KFptI_23bsNJHJ_0xB3Jboq39e450LGrofFpYc44rMsB76RK-CCSxXWJLJ6aBpzR1W1jCjZzPzQJcStz6SlEIemNSkNauvJHPea4qu3eWDq5hLYCSQ0k0_MM/s320/080.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555924564739102162" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjcJ2e0Rvoqnjt5TekQvKPTGd6w4PeSCx8X1zjMS7j-hZlz2-mHLFYHQMnGX8oODytXjbG0nG-fNOFxJzOwZBOqaHbBzCkyjxBcQESTNM1wxD775CqpmNXxXLs41UVkK-yLh5a2BCbFj9/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxjcJ2e0Rvoqnjt5TekQvKPTGd6w4PeSCx8X1zjMS7j-hZlz2-mHLFYHQMnGX8oODytXjbG0nG-fNOFxJzOwZBOqaHbBzCkyjxBcQESTNM1wxD775CqpmNXxXLs41UVkK-yLh5a2BCbFj9/s320/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555925243440369426" /></a><br /><br /> While Aimee and Brenna were in line, the rest of us hung out by the door out of the wind. Emily choked once and then got sick BIG TIME. Her cart, her coat, her texture bag, and her brother (Carter, who was standing in front of her) all were in need of a good cleaning. No less than half a dozen strangers offered to help and (cast member) Ralph, who we had struck up a conversation with earlier ran to get Aimee, brought me additional tissues and a bag for the initial clean up. <br />We were planning on meeting Mickey and Minnie, but instead detoured to a secret chamber of awesomeness hidden in Magic Kingdom (I’ll never tell) <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsFt1c4Cebg_KmaMr6-S4o1ldv9tYxrsLrM9DQz7it6EF81k_cScSejbioy4pNeQY0p1zYW74V7YWps6IItQT4yZI4vR3NOJHhDRiL4jqa3VFbUGtAZegol0em1XYb8uE70OArjS_1zwp/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsFt1c4Cebg_KmaMr6-S4o1ldv9tYxrsLrM9DQz7it6EF81k_cScSejbioy4pNeQY0p1zYW74V7YWps6IItQT4yZI4vR3NOJHhDRiL4jqa3VFbUGtAZegol0em1XYb8uE70OArjS_1zwp/s320/001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555925872501868226" /></a><br /> The Wish Lounge is a quiet room decorated with beautiful furniture, a life sized replica of “The Genie’s Lamp” and wonderful Aladdin and other Disney artwork. This lounge is exclusive for guests of the charitable organizations that send kids to Disney. Aimee cleaned up Emily and her chair in a private area while Carter, Brenna, and Drew relaxed on oversized pillows, a vintage chaise lounge and drank cold bottled water in the only quiet room in Magic Kingdom (I know, awesome). The best part was the discussion between Drew and I on the dangers of rubbing the Genie’s Lamp in a small room with lots of fragile, fancy, furniture. He decided we should take it out of the room to rub it, because we’d have to use our first wish to clean up everything. This kid is going to grow up to be something pretty amazing. He’s far more logical than the standard middle school kid. <br />After we cleaned up, we headed back to the Village. Emily was able to ride the carousel, but we didn’t have a camera with us. We’ll be returning tomorrow, I’m sure. Everyone loved it and Emily could park inside a turtle and smiled until the carousel (on her second turn) slowly soothed her back to sleep. <br />We are back at the Villa now, enjoying some pizza for dinner and hoping tomorrow will be as special as today was, but with less laundry…Gee-offhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15392762091323250343noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-80341734869865833442010-11-28T23:05:00.002-05:002010-11-28T23:26:09.971-05:00Shutterfly Christmas CardsHi everyone!<br />
Well, the Christmas holiday is quickly approaching and for me that means I’ve got to get a move on making my 2010 photo cards to send out to all of my friends and family. Shutterfly has given me a chance to earn 50 free Christmas photo cards by writing about their 2010 card collection on my blog! How nice, right? I thought so too. <br />
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I went to <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/">http://www.shutterfly.com/</a> to browse this year’s selection and I was very pleased with the choices of cards they have available for Christmas. It’s a nice mix a traditional, modern, and fun designs to suit whatever you might be looking for. It didn’t take me long to find the Christmas card that I thought was perfect for our family photo this year. In the past I have needed cards with 4 photo spots, so I can put a single picture of each kid looking their best. But this year, I’m so happy that I was able to figure out the self timer on my camera and got a pretty great shot of the whole family! Hooray!!<br />
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I know I can trust Shutterfly with my holiday cards this year because I have purchased Birthday Thank You Photo Cards and Photobooks from them in the past and have been satisfied with their quality.<br />
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My favorite card is the Holiday Window Christmas Card (sample shown here)<br />
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<img height="361" id="pipLargePreivew" src="http://www.shutterfly.com/img_/publishing/styleSwatches/ssc/stationerycard_5x7/STATIONERYCARD_5x7-23046-2461-MERCHLARGE_FRONT-v1281038923000109231.jpg" style="margin-left: 0px;" width="500" /><br />
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(you'll have to wait to see MY kids!!!!)<br />
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If you’re looking for the perfect card or photo gift check out these links:<br />
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Christmas photo cards - <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards">http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards</a><br />
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Holiday photo cards - <span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery">http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery</a></span><br />
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Christmas ornaments - <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/pewter-ornament">http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/pewter-ornament</a><br />
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Wall calendars - <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars">http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars</a><br />
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And Photobooks - <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books">http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books</a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Happy Holidays!!!</span></div><br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"></a>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-81227914646432197272010-11-05T00:01:00.001-04:002010-11-05T00:04:30.340-04:00The Cliff's Notes - June 2010<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I haven't really updated the blog at all since the big trip to LA, which we actually took in April!!! So, I'm officially making an attempt to blog again!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Since I'm so far behind and so much has happened, it'll be the very quick version!<br />
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Here goes . . .<br />
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In June:<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We got a shed for the backyard. The garage has been overflowing for a while now so we really needed this. :)</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5xte52EW12bKt_a-qRKZCQJr2PvE_hc-5pjUDFm_KkPgGRve0eHbv39fSlthyphenhyphen4NJVUD4dR0mGZv7v1oZ58LMSLiFUW8JHJCZotEh9Pj_K6uzZt6UqpNiMV-A3LJiTZeyi5vd_6Tf7Iw/s1600/IMG_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5xte52EW12bKt_a-qRKZCQJr2PvE_hc-5pjUDFm_KkPgGRve0eHbv39fSlthyphenhyphen4NJVUD4dR0mGZv7v1oZ58LMSLiFUW8JHJCZotEh9Pj_K6uzZt6UqpNiMV-A3LJiTZeyi5vd_6Tf7Iw/s320/IMG_0016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpg6igM61PqSyYhEs99jjmU3NU_XIaiB7Dia6l6n1xV9LL8_sYKw3wvE5PZm2LBRmnX5ZoH3oNZeLwZ4fGGvfasZKCQuAjxa28B5C7ILWGa8HPFKxsbM3z9ZNNn10YoWp6KN45TH1Hy48/s1600/IMG_0024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpg6igM61PqSyYhEs99jjmU3NU_XIaiB7Dia6l6n1xV9LL8_sYKw3wvE5PZm2LBRmnX5ZoH3oNZeLwZ4fGGvfasZKCQuAjxa28B5C7ILWGa8HPFKxsbM3z9ZNNn10YoWp6KN45TH1Hy48/s320/IMG_0024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Baby bunnies made home in our backyard as they have for the past few years. One bunny, whom we have named, Norbert, is still hanging around.</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/AVvXsEhsUWuS18hedi12jUuSgskVDsUDT97LEuvDRu4qnL6HH_nz5XMS9qVQ2NOEeqm83u5f7xSZUEMwdnk_upKeyyuO75zVkgYHiVk-pfTh0T3wNgev07rXVE-c1XS953LSbUJTMZwawDEGhNQ/s1600/IMG_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUWuS18hedi12jUuSgskVDsUDT97LEuvDRu4qnL6HH_nz5XMS9qVQ2NOEeqm83u5f7xSZUEMwdnk_upKeyyuO75zVkgYHiVk-pfTh0T3wNgev07rXVE-c1XS953LSbUJTMZwawDEGhNQ/s320/IMG_0005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Emily continues to make progress with her therapies, and is interacting more with us. We believe her vision is improving too! Check out the eye contact here!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4xstn0DTEFPxc48rszL9rhlZDZQP1z81wp1hOXIGCF7fuxzxl5KH_wypozvqNZo0q6hhZ_LLEy3OjBoggkfcYeqe6M4suMAD3mkMzfRhQXIiE3knEpfSuLBs5TSqJpko8fnBTVJ4vP0/s1600/IMG_0017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4xstn0DTEFPxc48rszL9rhlZDZQP1z81wp1hOXIGCF7fuxzxl5KH_wypozvqNZo0q6hhZ_LLEy3OjBoggkfcYeqe6M4suMAD3mkMzfRhQXIiE3knEpfSuLBs5TSqJpko8fnBTVJ4vP0/s320/IMG_0017.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWvkwGr0MRmIgM6qkDhPfCCnIofuNvE2aYLyWY5iYQnRDBvPdeUv99-Is2D9Qg6B55bQsZtUeWBs1vVKvLUCbcbQCW7q-igueSYoHj7OEzyy7wst7IEXnCfshh-Hhkx5R8QnYmprECPg/s1600/IMG_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWvkwGr0MRmIgM6qkDhPfCCnIofuNvE2aYLyWY5iYQnRDBvPdeUv99-Is2D9Qg6B55bQsZtUeWBs1vVKvLUCbcbQCW7q-igueSYoHj7OEzyy7wst7IEXnCfshh-Hhkx5R8QnYmprECPg/s320/IMG_0023.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Nicole, Joe, and Sierra rented a "shore house" so we got to visit them several days the week they were here. We are all hoping to make it an annual tradition! (I have more pics to add here from a beach photo shoot)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5nzcO1OrviDjCMiFVcVXTSmpLQE5_gyKBHDYDIA3H5-QMNiEzkTPOV2dQy5lMv25STiMeKx6EWIs8KjIMngnVDM5ahEq_ZgKUeZIZJ_dTxZk0rLRcRMDXiWyJFRrboC9BnUI1pjkMerY/s1600/IMG_0058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5nzcO1OrviDjCMiFVcVXTSmpLQE5_gyKBHDYDIA3H5-QMNiEzkTPOV2dQy5lMv25STiMeKx6EWIs8KjIMngnVDM5ahEq_ZgKUeZIZJ_dTxZk0rLRcRMDXiWyJFRrboC9BnUI1pjkMerY/s320/IMG_0058.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Drew had his Kindergarten class show, Italian restaurant themed with songs, poems and costumes. Totally cute! Drew LOVED his teacher and did a great job all year. He is reading at around a 3rd grade level! (Here he is with his teacher.)</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/AVvXsEjxFQRdywimzHMv7mbPQKiyO90je2eV97JxRsWdc1cCqxKxEkpXNMpH4Ygi4SYB8M-XH8apf3DgOIBZO7a752ss2btgAbyQMtm5KpxHYVdPo8GcDSrfrSNcaxJi_SeGPnYTA13pqaF-s54/s1600/IMG_0068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFQRdywimzHMv7mbPQKiyO90je2eV97JxRsWdc1cCqxKxEkpXNMpH4Ygi4SYB8M-XH8apf3DgOIBZO7a752ss2btgAbyQMtm5KpxHYVdPo8GcDSrfrSNcaxJi_SeGPnYTA13pqaF-s54/s320/IMG_0068.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I started doing more at home photo shoots with my camera, these were some I took for Father's day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_nA7gDNgipa3L3Lb75ahrReoBpdcr9L9Z25Vp3KzPIFY1n2f-V_ztXTic7PUelhwEzzjsWTurTAvvYfk2BPW6s6C8kU0k1HdS7j2KKxj9_imGIQGpE14terARtDFC8LS3d_KkD9HpXY/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_nA7gDNgipa3L3Lb75ahrReoBpdcr9L9Z25Vp3KzPIFY1n2f-V_ztXTic7PUelhwEzzjsWTurTAvvYfk2BPW6s6C8kU0k1HdS7j2KKxj9_imGIQGpE14terARtDFC8LS3d_KkD9HpXY/s320/IMG_0009.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">This is the picture I ended up giving Gee-off.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3gRM39igH1OEvnKlC6vO-3G68FAAqOpGBkBUI76YEItbxGzwa9_PFpypMwZQJ_9VPPTh5x1wbJTc7tDhUL_ChsJjnH877uK2yyCC8lilxStavbU5WmbReBIelYv5wa0-X8ofWb8LkTM/s1600/all4kidsb+5x7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3gRM39igH1OEvnKlC6vO-3G68FAAqOpGBkBUI76YEItbxGzwa9_PFpypMwZQJ_9VPPTh5x1wbJTc7tDhUL_ChsJjnH877uK2yyCC8lilxStavbU5WmbReBIelYv5wa0-X8ofWb8LkTM/s320/all4kidsb+5x7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">We also took a few trips to the Garden State Discovery Museum and I got to go to an all day scrapbooking crop.</div>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-23091641888807456882010-10-25T12:11:00.000-04:002010-10-25T12:11:05.260-04:00PhotographyI've been really enjoying taking pictures lately, it's become my latest hobby, or obsession. I've been taking pictures of the kids mostly, but I did one family photo shoot for a friend and some "modeling" shots of Drew for a Gap contest and it's been really fun! I have a nice camera, though I'm sure it's not what the professionals use, and I don't really know how to do all that fancy editing stuff, but I'm learning and hope to keep learning more!<br />
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Here's a link to a really awesome contest on Facebook for photographers. You can win props, editing "actions", really sweet stuff! Check it out!<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.juliemayree.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D822&h=e3498">http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.juliemayree.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D822&h=e3498</a><br />
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I'm hoping to win this stuff so wish me luck! :)Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-46463326859037318962010-09-19T10:28:00.000-04:002010-09-19T10:28:55.640-04:00More timeI'm going to have a little more time this week coming up with school FINALLY starting, and one of my goals is to get blogging again. So if you've still been checking in here, I thank you for caring about us, and I'll be catching you up very soon on all the latest news from the summer and the months before that!Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-60395727007478485122010-08-04T21:47:00.000-04:002010-08-04T21:47:09.972-04:00A new post!!It's been over a month since I lasted posted!! What can I say, our summer has been very busy! I have tons of pics and stories to share, but no time or energy to do it. Tonight, I messed around with the new Blogger Template Design feature. I like the sky background, very cute. :)Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-56990518042831877242010-06-30T22:44:00.001-04:002010-06-30T22:53:26.721-04:00Next Direct Model Competition: Part 2I know it's been over a month since I posted Part 1 of our trip, so if you've forgotten or have just found this blog for the first time, please scroll down past Emily's video and you'll find the post about the first two days of our trip LA!! <br />
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Here are few more pics from Part 1:<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After our very busy day on Saturday, we knew we were going to get to spend some time exploring Universal Studios and then "walking the red carpet" at the final party where the winner would be crowned!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">On Sunday morning, all of the kids met outside the hotel to wait for the tram to Universal for the Studio Tour. While we were waiting, our team leaders passed out portfolios containing 2 of each kid's best shots from the photo shoots, so exciting!! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2n31WYOgwraWsvLyUTgSVdCDhGcbp1yiMI02GlqnEW7Oz7qoZZlewOYQ7Dq-PsNErbAF661oW4v45XxJFwJGdBsH4PLhL_B2nzzsebUarByfhSYGFh1AWmI9O8n-tZY4NtpgSjzA3Ac/s1600/drewnext4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2n31WYOgwraWsvLyUTgSVdCDhGcbp1yiMI02GlqnEW7Oz7qoZZlewOYQ7Dq-PsNErbAF661oW4v45XxJFwJGdBsH4PLhL_B2nzzsebUarByfhSYGFh1AWmI9O8n-tZY4NtpgSjzA3Ac/s320/drewnext4.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZSauFAql5osDmIG8RngMuBD1zNRLYheoBNDMsQF9X7pdvUjJ-CYK3f8KESB0dmOasCQ4klnMe-8umEcQgUGDRqEdHQO6v14fRDYcnfyC1hKFRlrD6Cpu-X3xpNVPMecAX2VxCjOU8Ks/s1600/drewnext3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZSauFAql5osDmIG8RngMuBD1zNRLYheoBNDMsQF9X7pdvUjJ-CYK3f8KESB0dmOasCQ4klnMe-8umEcQgUGDRqEdHQO6v14fRDYcnfyC1hKFRlrD6Cpu-X3xpNVPMecAX2VxCjOU8Ks/s320/drewnext3.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Studio Tour was fun and I was able to get some cool shots of movie props and sets. However, I'm not sure it was the best idea to take a group of 4-7 year olds on the tour as it was a bit scary at parts. Norman Bates made a guest appearance with a knife as we rode through the Psycho set (creepy!), Jaws, of course, the dark Mummy cave, and the earthquake in the underground subway were all a bit much, especially for the littlest ones and even for Drew at 6 1/2. He did mostly enjoy it though.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After the tour, we all split up into our teams and "The Penguins" went to the Shrek 4D movie ride. We sat in a theater and got little surprises while we watched the movie, like being sprayed with water when Donkey sneezed, and "spiders" crawling up our legs when they appeared on the screen!! After that, we headed over to the Simpsons ride, which is a simulated roller coaster with the characters from the show on a huge screen. I really liked it, but Drew wasn't feeling so well and didn't really like that ride too much. Too much jiggling, shaking and lurching up and down for him I think!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Then it was time to head over to the Globe Theater to get dressed and primped for the final party! Each group was taken in and given their outfits that they had tried on the day before. After getting dressed, they led us through the back of theater to the hair/makeup girls who were outside just before the red carpet. Of course, it was right before the red carpet walk that my camera batteries died and I had to run back to the coat/bag check room to get my extra batteries so I wouldn't miss any picture opportunities!!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">They lined each team up and they walked the red carpet and strutted their stuff! The photogs took their pics at the end of carpet like they were real superstars! Then they had them all go back to the beginning and walk the carpet together which was so stinkin' cute!! Once all of the teams were finished on the carpet, they got all of the kids gathered together on the steps of the Globe Theater for some group shots of the Top 50!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We then went in to the Globe for the final party where they would be announcing the winner! They had two female hosts (one a former model and blogger, and Eva LaRue from CSI Miami) who introduced the judges and showed some photos and videos from the competition. They invited each team to come up on stage while DJ Tony O (from Ellen) spun some tunes. Drew just couldn't stop dancing on stage and I have the video to prove it too!!! :) </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Drew's Team Leader</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CKC39CXrDllZHossFaUaToXYDgtiL7gK40V0lmEQdRE-IsmaIx895RL1u6V1sjCspyxfM8pcAD0kar2QTq2-4e6Q6aB3awh0wqBUMyS5dhyphenhyphenyE6Z_CTm_Be6tcTYZO_k4oqel2YxT6jQ/s1600/IMG_3803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CKC39CXrDllZHossFaUaToXYDgtiL7gK40V0lmEQdRE-IsmaIx895RL1u6V1sjCspyxfM8pcAD0kar2QTq2-4e6Q6aB3awh0wqBUMyS5dhyphenhyphenyE6Z_CTm_Be6tcTYZO_k4oqel2YxT6jQ/s320/IMG_3803.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Unfortunately, Drew did not win the big prize; a $100,000 educational scholarship and a year modeling contract with Wilhelmina. The big winner was Savannah L. from the orange group, and they also picked 3 runners-up; Miles and Paige from our group (Yay!!!), and Jake V. from the red group! All of the kids did walk away with prizes though, because they let us keep the clothes that they wore to the party, gave each finalist a $150 shopping spree on their website, and they eventually emailed all of the photo shoot pictures to us as well!!!! I was really happy about the pictures! :) </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">They also said that if they were interested in our children as models they would contact us within the next few weeks, but we haven't heard anything. :( I do still keep in touch with many of the Moms from the Top 50 on Facebook and it doesn't seem that anyone else heard from Wilhelmina either. The runner-ups and the winner did recently go to New York City to do a photo shoot for Next, so that is exciting and I'm waiting to see the pics!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We also got a chance to see my "computer friend", Shannen, and her beautiful daughters, M and A. Thanks for coming over to see us girls!!!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Finally, Drew was able to get in the hotel pool for a while before we went to the airport and headed home! He had been waiting to swim since we had arrived on Friday night!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Again, to everyone who helped with the grueling voting process to get Drew in the Top 50, we thank you all very much and appreciate your devotion to us! Drew and I got to experience a once in a lifetime trip together and I know I will never forget it! <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/193/2971DB618EE23D181E82C0E8A76731AB.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-27640046874550601642010-05-26T14:12:00.000-04:002010-05-26T14:12:09.768-04:00Emily stood today! Do you believe in miracles??<object style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/JeBfiuC3Km0/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JeBfiuC3Km0&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JeBfiuC3Km0&hl=en_US&fs=1" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-20620614878832404752010-05-12T20:44:00.000-04:002010-05-12T20:44:45.925-04:00Next Direct Modeling Competition - Hollywood Part 1Drew and I headed to the airport on Friday morning with plenty of time to spare before our 2pm departure time. We parked in the economy parking lot and took the shuttle bus to the terminal. We made it through security (with the dvd player, leapster, cell phone, chargers, and camera) with relative ease, and had some time to walk around. We had some Chik-Fil-A for lunch - mmmmmmm - got some Twizzlers and gum for the plane and headed to the gate. After a few minutes, I thought I recognized one of the other boys from the competition. We had seen the Top 50 photos many times during and after the voting phase and a lot of the moms of the finalists had been chatting online leading up to big weekend so we knew that some of us would be traveling together. After chatting with the first boy and his Mom, another Mom came over and introduced her son who was also in the competition. And one more boy and his Dad were also on the flight with us too!! There were only 15 boys in the whole Top 50 and 4 of them were on our flight out!<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"> Drew and the Phanatic at the airport!</div><div align="justify"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Drew was excited for the plane ride (his very fist time - excluding one trip when he was only 5 months old) and did great during take off. He enjoyed looking out the window and seeing the ground getting further and further away until we were above the clouds. We read a book, some magazines, he watched some movies, played his video games, and only used the bathroom once or twice. :) It was almost a 6 hour flight, but we made it safely and landed in LA about 5pm PST. There was a driver waiting for us at the baggage claim, and one of the other boys and his Dad rode in the car with us to the hotel. It was about an hour ride with friday night traffic. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzRd5gZe_m0guv1XKrv8lXOO51HC0l5QiftvFq1q-oad8D9xjdmKspCZ3_A4IdtnBUlWPgYE1ttg7bI16XTFKS1S328VbdvYkLInm11FdHMQWtmHL-Uzn3Y_USZynL1RZrFHs9MwPttw/s1600/IMG_3675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzRd5gZe_m0guv1XKrv8lXOO51HC0l5QiftvFq1q-oad8D9xjdmKspCZ3_A4IdtnBUlWPgYE1ttg7bI16XTFKS1S328VbdvYkLInm11FdHMQWtmHL-Uzn3Y_USZynL1RZrFHs9MwPttw/s320/IMG_3675.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Around 6 pm, we arrived at the Sheraton Universal and checked in. The Next Direct staff welcomed us and gave Drew his straw hat and white superstar sunglasses. :) They gave us our schedule for the weekend in a cute little notebook and a goodie bag with snacks, water, tissues, sunscreen wipes and such. They also gave Drew two blue t shirts to be worn each day of the competition and one for me as well. They had broken the finalists up into 5 groups of 10 - by age - and gave each team a mascot from Madagascar (the movie) and a color. Drew was on the Skipper The Penguins team. Go Blue!!! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> In the hotel restaurant for dinner Friday night</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNSGkleJKAprSpV_-zCN0_XyhQUkG-TEfgpqKSl9_BKA03y2RV1HP9YnwTgyx2GggXApIZtovQacwMbuXwLPYUDzKZp0IbS2gu1maVOolT8tElfq43tVFaawUjLUVazal2itZbyjs0I8/s1600/IMG_3676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNSGkleJKAprSpV_-zCN0_XyhQUkG-TEfgpqKSl9_BKA03y2RV1HP9YnwTgyx2GggXApIZtovQacwMbuXwLPYUDzKZp0IbS2gu1maVOolT8tElfq43tVFaawUjLUVazal2itZbyjs0I8/s320/IMG_3676.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We were given vouchers for meals, so after we got our stuff up in the room and checked it all out, we went down and had some dinner. we met some of the other families, but were pretty tired with the time change, so we went up to bed by 8:30, 11:30 our time!!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">On Saturday, we had breakfast and met some more of the finalists and their parents. Then we had time to go back up to the room and get ready for a full day of activites at Milk Studios. We headed downstairs as soon as we were ready and Drew found some buddies to run around with outside for awhile. As it got close to 11, our team leaders started to appear. Each team started to gather in the lobby and our team leaders tried to keep the kids busy with some games while we waited. We ended up waiting a long time to get on the bus to Milk, and we got there around 12:30 or so I think. Once we were there, I definitely lost track of time!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Races around the hotel pool</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNP5QIIxmqISa19cQPJQbvBNzEZkq_ivk_ACFVmPc5P_vU-ET5yB73w8i5YgQeCcKYNG6XuOC0rkvjyAk0MFJJzTf2Z5l8ioYoH94M5Z0Qz-oaOpph7A09dISCUfD4vHbgnDUgIfSrMF0/s1600/IMG_3677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNP5QIIxmqISa19cQPJQbvBNzEZkq_ivk_ACFVmPc5P_vU-ET5yB73w8i5YgQeCcKYNG6XuOC0rkvjyAk0MFJJzTf2Z5l8ioYoH94M5Z0Qz-oaOpph7A09dISCUfD4vHbgnDUgIfSrMF0/s320/IMG_3677.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Getting together with team Blue!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLkzqyeNcH0s7ROIwpmnLqqQv0IAnkxzGQJJm6wM3-bc3-zZ9a9oYgbBPpGXpqAO1dJ_rlk0HxFWQAiohUUYsFIca_Pc8pPppm9uMqEC1XeAp1vpD8j_Rz7H57lWIycYCYUBzzeUuUpg/s1600/IMG_3684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLkzqyeNcH0s7ROIwpmnLqqQv0IAnkxzGQJJm6wM3-bc3-zZ9a9oYgbBPpGXpqAO1dJ_rlk0HxFWQAiohUUYsFIca_Pc8pPppm9uMqEC1XeAp1vpD8j_Rz7H57lWIycYCYUBzzeUuUpg/s320/IMG_3684.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOWbcIqXpnM0D6ZH95IESy9ToWRjNfjh8P90YpgtZlR1vmGoyN9x-PK1KmfOMa5Mux05X08rE3CzdluE9lM04GlYqrpQvaWY3N59oTRT4mraBaN3cLe8pO6-k0ss145TbCSu670u7jyI/s1600/IMG_3687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOWbcIqXpnM0D6ZH95IESy9ToWRjNfjh8P90YpgtZlR1vmGoyN9x-PK1KmfOMa5Mux05X08rE3CzdluE9lM04GlYqrpQvaWY3N59oTRT4mraBaN3cLe8pO6-k0ss145TbCSu670u7jyI/s320/IMG_3687.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Eye Spy</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOssQGGs9KSyd7MxcT4WDZNJpS4bKLVnIIAc7VvBJeauC3p6PmFmDr16dDCIES76PNSoHIPS3CfZlyREKEGSleyBE0yfjeTTV4ahEbDzR-crHTwVQNljAZGVDfL0kSb_lpSwqVEcSHHeA/s1600/IMG_3689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOssQGGs9KSyd7MxcT4WDZNJpS4bKLVnIIAc7VvBJeauC3p6PmFmDr16dDCIES76PNSoHIPS3CfZlyREKEGSleyBE0yfjeTTV4ahEbDzR-crHTwVQNljAZGVDfL0kSb_lpSwqVEcSHHeA/s320/IMG_3689.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our team's first stop was the "play room". The kids were able to draw on a huge roll of paper on the floor, grab a quick snack, watch the magician who did some cool tricks with Drew, and got their pics taken for a fake OK magazine cover. It seemed like we weren't there for very long at all before we went to the dance room. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuOQuIIIPsCAFB-ByXWbPJJqANMZgT89P0LOwuo7LWfudjuFfn3cnwrjyh7tS_UPMF6uHjrVL6cYjI9hbnKhKL2MHOW8R3ZkqPhRriJB0mhvaBEQLU7rNEhTDDzGg43Gdc4-8M7rcPpc0/s1600/IMG_3695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuOQuIIIPsCAFB-ByXWbPJJqANMZgT89P0LOwuo7LWfudjuFfn3cnwrjyh7tS_UPMF6uHjrVL6cYjI9hbnKhKL2MHOW8R3ZkqPhRriJB0mhvaBEQLU7rNEhTDDzGg43Gdc4-8M7rcPpc0/s320/IMG_3695.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The first thing we saw was a huge white floor area that curved right up the wall. It was too tempting and a few of the boys ran right up on the wall leaving shoe marks to prove it! There were two men on the dance floor, Christian and Kelly, the choreographers. And then, off to the side, were four others, who turned out to be the judges! Two from Next, and two from Wilhelmina. The choreographers (C and K) took the kids on the dance fllor and got right into some introductionms and warm up games. Then they did some dancing in a circle where each kid took a turn in the middle. Drew really loved the dancing! They had some LOUD music playing and he just gets so into it! Gotta love him, he's not the best dancer, but you can just tell he <strong>feels</strong> it!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6gty26BdrQ2BpXQOuPteBGkToKbWxAvwBv6k4eQS3YNmiAEi4cCI1no_UqH5twSsw-Z4k5e1vi-FqLjIH3c-1rZPoeKGO-QbgyaFoj4JbXD8o7MdiuIY32Ec3E-dF1NORKAOESetj_8/s1600/IMG_3696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6gty26BdrQ2BpXQOuPteBGkToKbWxAvwBv6k4eQS3YNmiAEi4cCI1no_UqH5twSsw-Z4k5e1vi-FqLjIH3c-1rZPoeKGO-QbgyaFoj4JbXD8o7MdiuIY32Ec3E-dF1NORKAOESetj_8/s320/IMG_3696.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In the T - ball "ready position" ;)</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/AVvXsEhYJOg2c6Vu7q2ZGDC58rp1zoDEbq8fBJEFd0kJQ5jiw-bNRS3WAiCnGRwAKO0hKR0L3vrFOy3KbnFDEu8VM3fLZlvM4yaPih7Ov-FdHeu5d-gmkTfMREAG-KmTajvGE8jmjOptyz4dO9w/s1600/IMG_3702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJOg2c6Vu7q2ZGDC58rp1zoDEbq8fBJEFd0kJQ5jiw-bNRS3WAiCnGRwAKO0hKR0L3vrFOy3KbnFDEu8VM3fLZlvM4yaPih7Ov-FdHeu5d-gmkTfMREAG-KmTajvGE8jmjOptyz4dO9w/s320/IMG_3702.JPG" wt="true" /></a></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/AVvXsEgkBzG1QJHD_396xd3Axal6eL_yhzDFo5NP_9mMuTbzGK9qxUQV16eAv4gyQn3GrPwJaHstV7ERz06vWtoJcYWxCzB90l2Wv2PklMqRRh2VpvXWaUsKT0nAC8sWi6Z46C9l2oMEmFgUADY/s1600/IMG_3706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBzG1QJHD_396xd3Axal6eL_yhzDFo5NP_9mMuTbzGK9qxUQV16eAv4gyQn3GrPwJaHstV7ERz06vWtoJcYWxCzB90l2Wv2PklMqRRh2VpvXWaUsKT0nAC8sWi6Z46C9l2oMEmFgUADY/s320/IMG_3706.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We went out to take a bathroom break and then to lunch, but they called us back into the dance room to dance some more. C and K did a few more circle dances with the kids and then they worked out a whole number with each kid doing a different part of the routine. While we were there, Tony O (the DJ from Ellen) walked into the room to take a picture with one of the hosts! I was just a little star struck. I happened to be video taping the dancing when he came in and shreiked a little bit! ;)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We ate some lunch and then it was our turn to do photo shoots. They took four of the boys in our room and each boy got to sit in the hair and make-up chair and get "prettied up". Mostly, Drew got his nose wiped, and then she moved his hair around a little bit! When it was his turn the photographer made him really comfortable by making farting noises to get him to laugh and then Drew just started dancing because there was music playing. The photographer seems to really like it so he just went with it. Now that I've seen the photo shoot pictures, though, I wish they would've asked him to pose a bit more, or at least gotten hime to stand still for even one picture. Anyway, I think he had fun and did a great job.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiq1_6FpYOillREhDbL82IgDaML9uBK9tERsauLNKgWG-Fs6jf8UytuVEsVb1nQ2BSkX684G5ZTUf3QPpzdBO3k1AULbyL7iDatKoWigHS5avtdNK1mFSCR42-ESku8ydOLy1IWuE7HA8/s1600/IMG_3713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiq1_6FpYOillREhDbL82IgDaML9uBK9tERsauLNKgWG-Fs6jf8UytuVEsVb1nQ2BSkX684G5ZTUf3QPpzdBO3k1AULbyL7iDatKoWigHS5avtdNK1mFSCR42-ESku8ydOLy1IWuE7HA8/s320/IMG_3713.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Gotta have a clean nose!!!</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/AVvXsEhqVkcr4AplAzVP8V4-ixYiqWVWH1Vsc_i_ugGWeMOep3n7KpiTlOJ9ItcVkgbjfasjyNV2soFzg7iyGOnO53nRAfpgol67gV7lX49RD8sja8OBuLwqKtoG8COe7jJAdz1MqMUGmR9wVPY/s1600/IMG_3714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVkcr4AplAzVP8V4-ixYiqWVWH1Vsc_i_ugGWeMOep3n7KpiTlOJ9ItcVkgbjfasjyNV2soFzg7iyGOnO53nRAfpgol67gV7lX49RD8sja8OBuLwqKtoG8COe7jJAdz1MqMUGmR9wVPY/s320/IMG_3714.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Photo shoot! :)</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/AVvXsEhXCBwP1cO1d3ZsuCAYxK3hU47eYgsShz5E5GpZeEaM7TF-uWTH4z2UYv4AX4JEqzqTEJZb32ZVb1ySEe0bQw0H7gm23fC6kITThiERZiy3FA1xGjD2t60asgD5PuFyWObU_bA8WLZweJk/s1600/IMG_3720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCBwP1cO1d3ZsuCAYxK3hU47eYgsShz5E5GpZeEaM7TF-uWTH4z2UYv4AX4JEqzqTEJZb32ZVb1ySEe0bQw0H7gm23fC6kITThiERZiy3FA1xGjD2t60asgD5PuFyWObU_bA8WLZweJk/s320/IMG_3720.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Finally, we went to the fitting room, to get the kids' outfits for red carpet event on Sunday. They ended up switching Drew's shirt and shoes after his shoes didn't fit right and he looked really cute in the final outfit! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> This was the original outfit that was changed</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbtV9Xat5pwaUS0g8EJ-NRgopjH5ZEL_A6Yy9W99E34u4V4vgD5oH0FRJpkqVkLfWV7mHv0AqVRkJnl2_J4_bvT_h4b-_Ldh0HBWcoUqm5EHF5CvdFWZ3QyPgk8u1qQbvCwYrQid05pg/s1600/IMG_3723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbtV9Xat5pwaUS0g8EJ-NRgopjH5ZEL_A6Yy9W99E34u4V4vgD5oH0FRJpkqVkLfWV7mHv0AqVRkJnl2_J4_bvT_h4b-_Ldh0HBWcoUqm5EHF5CvdFWZ3QyPgk8u1qQbvCwYrQid05pg/s320/IMG_3723.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Team Blue! :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiYUPT3pT2u34w7u9JtRBOlMBSDWR5W9oys5nYD7uC-zwXRoyblThgvTJ_rEYQ_ho4nOr8rKtquZa-ICb0ozzl2mGeZHne5RVNpXIsLC187puaQlBdIkJp-4FnUQLBlt8_ROZPckI-hk/s1600/IMG_3698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiYUPT3pT2u34w7u9JtRBOlMBSDWR5W9oys5nYD7uC-zwXRoyblThgvTJ_rEYQ_ho4nOr8rKtquZa-ICb0ozzl2mGeZHne5RVNpXIsLC187puaQlBdIkJp-4FnUQLBlt8_ROZPckI-hk/s320/IMG_3698.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Not sure about this pose, but love this face!!!</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/AVvXsEhpeX96fke6uYeQMKY8DVNLA4ILfADIeKOjVEvNDdEDH4PpgbMUwnmtf0mySufJh_iyGPnALGEnnInPp0oGpnKXbfko3vjK7WX5HBz-t1gk4Fnlr5wglbFBxL4rPr0UNwXXHw1ZnqNBbZ4/s1600/IMG_3700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpeX96fke6uYeQMKY8DVNLA4ILfADIeKOjVEvNDdEDH4PpgbMUwnmtf0mySufJh_iyGPnALGEnnInPp0oGpnKXbfko3vjK7WX5HBz-t1gk4Fnlr5wglbFBxL4rPr0UNwXXHw1ZnqNBbZ4/s320/IMG_3700.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Top 50</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/AVvXsEgJwuZjp6RA5bwPT1j4mQ2NVwpoKquw__WzRuOo3EOkz-BRam96PQkI-CX6NDied9VahTtGa3wu3wS7FHMPfZJ_1WrRI6PRT0AH0LFSSte-QVMHGXEiZQ4FAYvIM9pOTDp92PkM9rZmzk0/s1600/IMG_3731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwuZjp6RA5bwPT1j4mQ2NVwpoKquw__WzRuOo3EOkz-BRam96PQkI-CX6NDied9VahTtGa3wu3wS7FHMPfZJ_1WrRI6PRT0AH0LFSSte-QVMHGXEiZQ4FAYvIM9pOTDp92PkM9rZmzk0/s320/IMG_3731.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After that, we caught the bus back to the hotel, where we had planned to meet my cousin and his family and go to the City Walk for dinner. Unfortunately, there was a meeting with the judges scheduled smack in the middle of our break time, so we ended up hanging around the lobby for awhile, went to the meeting which ended up starting more than an hour late, and finally meeting my cousin and his family at the City Walk where they had already scored a table and had waited for us to get there to order! After we took a few pics with them, Drew and I walked around for awhile, stopping in some of the stores and watching some people try indoor parachuting (jumping from a plane - what's that called???) Again, it had gotten to be very late, so we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> My cousin, Ryan, and his boys</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqe0CkOkP12pcW6we55Z6W-2D8qz2GVh9zCDzEkvq8k893auu7VaHiPtWH44T__yA8q3nfe9A-00U7ldfFtoGiz37O-NDFqRBUtahkNdB_H6hJ4UsT-ruxaT6Y1rXnV9HPvE8NSFJjex0/s1600/IMG_3737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqe0CkOkP12pcW6we55Z6W-2D8qz2GVh9zCDzEkvq8k893auu7VaHiPtWH44T__yA8q3nfe9A-00U7ldfFtoGiz37O-NDFqRBUtahkNdB_H6hJ4UsT-ruxaT6Y1rXnV9HPvE8NSFJjex0/s320/IMG_3737.JPG" wt="true" /></a></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/AVvXsEjH-E6Kv0RcqTlkbIQR4cJvYU7lPRfDGyd700sblSJqyc_tAcpgkpdIi_lR4EWP_VocmXiXjEP3KpxAxXWVrQaBTlanloZ85x5xmUwOg4Sc8DiYlaHENklXTV0TzDqwnxuaYdkN-v10e24/s1600/IMG_3739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-E6Kv0RcqTlkbIQR4cJvYU7lPRfDGyd700sblSJqyc_tAcpgkpdIi_lR4EWP_VocmXiXjEP3KpxAxXWVrQaBTlanloZ85x5xmUwOg4Sc8DiYlaHENklXTV0TzDqwnxuaYdkN-v10e24/s320/IMG_3739.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/193/2971DB618EE23D181E82C0E8A76731AB.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3930620257842720202.post-39699689734275401582010-04-26T21:24:00.001-04:002010-04-26T21:25:27.245-04:00He's a Model, Ya Know What I mean . . .Here are just a few of many shots I took during our AMAZING weekend in LA! What an experience, so much fun! They kept the kids very busy and scheduled with modeling "work" and plenty of fun!!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">For now . . . .</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Saturday morning - meeting the Blue Penguin team members for the first time. "Hellooooo, ladies!" ;)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMJkiPhGNX4GAdjDMicYy9Bi5OEXczppCFMfDEwLitE8Bn4hLSx3WrCc7u_tCzyhOAkNSmfW2_POtfmtdlisHx4zQ05gM9-Wy5lAxNfPLEEOOyR6FL5R0hyphenhypheniIuOqYM0NuR2m_fXL9uI4/s1600/IMG_3681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMJkiPhGNX4GAdjDMicYy9Bi5OEXczppCFMfDEwLitE8Bn4hLSx3WrCc7u_tCzyhOAkNSmfW2_POtfmtdlisHx4zQ05gM9-Wy5lAxNfPLEEOOyR6FL5R0hyphenhypheniIuOqYM0NuR2m_fXL9uI4/s320/IMG_3681.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Getting his hair fixed - and the photo shoot!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKTaGYycidMN74fS6A_K4PHLryiUkhvt5QIcDfeg9TGkBhQb4WsiNJ431kg26DPySnUUBFhtxLK2oeCQ3KKXXANGyS8ub6sQSLcR6WiIkArVK0kHOyZedc_3AuSov2k3exAwxtM2CZSI/s1600/IMG_3717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKTaGYycidMN74fS6A_K4PHLryiUkhvt5QIcDfeg9TGkBhQb4WsiNJ431kg26DPySnUUBFhtxLK2oeCQ3KKXXANGyS8ub6sQSLcR6WiIkArVK0kHOyZedc_3AuSov2k3exAwxtM2CZSI/s320/IMG_3717.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2JiCUWhAiw5kM9eZOq9oCasiTN6uxsZl0zMU8DqtSekaK2FSfKdMAHo0qqrYsqub9XYpT1bVLUBdUy00vu8eAa9ARZMn69iQWHOu-l0cwwfRQBHLqlfcLa_SyfKTt6dIUhtEWdamTWY/s1600/IMG_3719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2JiCUWhAiw5kM9eZOq9oCasiTN6uxsZl0zMU8DqtSekaK2FSfKdMAHo0qqrYsqub9XYpT1bVLUBdUy00vu8eAa9ARZMn69iQWHOu-l0cwwfRQBHLqlfcLa_SyfKTt6dIUhtEWdamTWY/s320/IMG_3719.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">In between rooms at Milk studios, they posed in front of the red carpet banner </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmikQzSV4eRGDz1p0ubb3zWoaGXc1R3IbWThACec6cCN5o18-_uFa-3XRnPB0dWFIeF4gTDpgbqWVe1Mstx1Rw4QRqibqYoLkEQOwX0ota9kRWNGDGpohTZxFF04sUaextByYDsMTmWM/s1600/IMG_3698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmikQzSV4eRGDz1p0ubb3zWoaGXc1R3IbWThACec6cCN5o18-_uFa-3XRnPB0dWFIeF4gTDpgbqWVe1Mstx1Rw4QRqibqYoLkEQOwX0ota9kRWNGDGpohTZxFF04sUaextByYDsMTmWM/s320/IMG_3698.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The final party red carpet outfit from Next - we got to keep it too!!!! :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEZ7p4FQ07q9QAJXwxwKexblqejtvFL489RF4obiZPSQf1YrB-eBhLUoHt-X-i1UozODQih9DDkmceBtJ1urkoJlUqoOnsznL-9X-3g8RpvSXem9HiKcxFmBDvE3VeVtHZWHIBgLhfJE/s1600/IMG_3792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEZ7p4FQ07q9QAJXwxwKexblqejtvFL489RF4obiZPSQf1YrB-eBhLUoHt-X-i1UozODQih9DDkmceBtJ1urkoJlUqoOnsznL-9X-3g8RpvSXem9HiKcxFmBDvE3VeVtHZWHIBgLhfJE/s320/IMG_3792.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">More pictures to come . . .</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/193/2971DB618EE23D181E82C0E8A76731AB.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Aimeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06361708855458119028noreply@blogger.com3