stories

"Mom, remember at Wings at the beach how they had all those little glasses with people's names on them?"

"Yeah."

"Well, how did they know who's name to put on there?"

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"There's all these bubbles under water. It's like you're swimming through jello!"

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"Mom, why does the day go by so fast when you're at the beach? Why does it go by so slow when I'm at school?"

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Josh's cousin was crying. He covered his ears and said, "I don't want to hear the mandrakes!"

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"Mom, I've never had a brother. When can I have one?"

"Probably not ever, Josh."

"So your tummy isn't feeling weird?"

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"Mom, when I get to be an adult is Jules going to be retired?"

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"How old will Jane be when you're ten?"

"Six."

"Good. How old will she be when you're eight?"

"Four."

"That's right! Now how old will Jane's baby sister be when you're ten?"

(thinks a long time) "Four."

"Good!"

"How old will I be when you're twenty?"

"Dead."

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stories

I handed Josh a tank top to wear on one of the scorching days we've had lately and he said,  "I don't think this is going to be good. "

I said, "It'll be very good. It'll keep you cool today."

His reply? "Like my armpits are pressing on air?"

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Pap kissed me. Josh saw it and said, "Pap, just because you're her dad doesn't mean you get all the kisses."

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We got to the beach and Jane declared to the entire car, "Jane's going to be crazy til midnight!"

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Josh at one point was in the back seat teaching Jane how to say certain words and then I hear, "Can you say Chick-fil-A sauce?"

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(In the car listening to Casting Crowns "Sing Until the Whole World Hears")
Josh: What's a demon?
Jules: That's easy! It's the offspring of chaos, a devil, or such.

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"Mom, there's going to be a party in my bed tonight and I need your help!"

then and now

Then

Now

ziplining in north carolina

One of the things Julianna wanted to do for her birthday was go ziplining or to a ropes course. It was still a little cold around her birthday at the end of March so over Memorial Day weekend we went ziplining.  We took both kids. We bought a Groupon for Beanstalk Journey in Morganton, NC. It was only $59 for two so about $120 for all four of us. We called and scheduled an appointment for a Sunday morning at 10 am. It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast.

We started on the simple ropes course. There was a hanging bridge (that Josh's feet couldn't even reach when he was tethered to the line so he went tandem with Jonathan to push him along from behind). There was a V-shaped net to climb and the guides issued challenges like try walking with your feet up high on the sides. It was a fun way to get acclimated to the height and harness.

Josh was hilarious. As we were sometimes waiting for the person on the other side of the line to disconnect, one of the tour guides would take Josh's harness and swing him out over the ground and off the platform we were standing on. Josh would just hang there with no expression with his arms drooped down like he had no care in the world. It was so funny to see his crazy amount of courage too. He would sit on the edge of the platforms without hesitation. Sometimes we were fifty or sixty feet in the air.

Julianna had a great time too but occasionally she would be a bit of a drama queen and say things like, "Oh no!" and "Here we go!" in total dramatic fashion. She was so brave though. One girl we were with was obviously frightened but did it all anyway. I think everyone enjoyed it and although I'm not sure that one little girl would go back, I know we would.  In fact, Josh has already asked when we can return and Jules keeps asking questions about how much it cost like she's interested in saving up to go again.


Here's one of my favorite pictures of Julianna with her arms spread wide. I didn't get any pictures of this but on one of the ziplines we were given beanbags to toss down at a cornhole board as we went zipping by. It was so much fun.

Love my family and loved sharing this experience with them. I'd highly recommend Beanstalk Journey!

Have you even been on a ropes course? Ziplining? Would you go?

Overheard

"Dad, what happens to the clouds at night?"

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"Dad, there are plants in this Biology book! Hahahaha isn't that funny?!"
"Jules, that's because Biology is the study of living things."
"It is?"
"Yep, it is."
"Ohhhhhhhhh"

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Jonathan on the results of our recent Bath and Body Works shopping trip:
"It smells like a pina colada in here."

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The kids were having a conversation about how to make a baby and Jules told Josh that the girl has to have an egg. Josh's response: "But I wanted to hatch an egg."

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And this one's my favorite... sort of reminds me of the time Julianna blamed her mess on the Pilot Paula Fischer Price Little People figure....

"Jane, who got the marbles out?"
"Josh did it."

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Family Force Five {FF5} review + giveaway

I was not paid for this post, however Family Christian did send me a copy of Time Stands Still to listen to and review. Plus they are giving away an appreciation certificate to one reader. The links below are not affiliate links. As always, the opinions expressed below are my own.

image source

 

When we took the kids to WinterJam a month or so ago they were totally mesmerized when Family Force Five came out wearing wacked out suits and audience members stood up and started dancing all crazy to "Crank it Like a Chainsaw."  The "party" they threw at this show was what my kids talked about in the few days following.

source

When I saw that I had a chance to review their latest album "Time Stands Still," I jumped at the chance. This band is considered "crunk rock" which makes me laugh in itself, but I just love the positivity of their music and my kids love the upbeat party songs.

Josh said, "Mom they're the ones that wore glow-in-the-dark clothes, right?"

No we go down the road singing B-Z-R-K, B-Z-R-K, Go berserk and bouncing along.

Family Force Five

Use the widget below for your chance to win a $10 certificate to Family Christian and you can get your own copy.  Giveaway ends Sunday 5/3.

Family Force Five Review and Giveaway

what's going on at our house

Last week was Spring Break and it was glorious.

I started the week off by running the City of the Arts half marathon with a group of friends. The actual race ended up being canceled because they couldn't get approval from the city for some of the road closures but one of the girls wrote the race director and told him that we were planning to run the course anyway so they came and brought us some of last year's shirts and medals for our efforts. I thought that was pretty nice. We had a group of ten and we all were different ages so we all placed first in our age groups. Very cool. Probably the only time that will ever happen to me.

We followed that up with a lunch with friends at one of my favorite places. Yum!

Julianna and I kicked around together all week not doing a whole lot but still filling the time with plenty of fun.

We redeemed some of the coupons for birthday treats that she had gotten a week earlier.

We ran together and rode bikes together.

We went shopping and bought some of Jonathan's 38 birthday gifts.  And we had lunch at the mall with all the girls.

We drove by my old house and took some stalker pictures.

Then on Friday Jonathan and Josh were off so we got up and drove to the beach for the weekend. It was a quick trip but so nice to get down there even for a couple of days.

Mom, Whit, and I took the kids to an Easter Egg Hunt.

Dad and I ran and took silly pictures at Wings on the giant conch shell.

Then we packed it up and came home in time for Easter lunch at Memama's.

Fun, relaxing, and refreshed... and counting down the days until summer.

What's going on with you guys?

circus

For Christmas we got Jane a box of circus animal crackers and wrapped up some tickets to Ringling Bros, Barnum and Bailey Circus to go with them.

This was pretty amazing:

(video is also here if the above doesn't work)

Jane loved the "flying" girls. They were wearing glow-in-the-dark costumes and they were so high up that it was easier for her to see.

I think Jane had as much fun eating as she did watching the show. Check out her pretzel. It was bigger than her head!

Our Circus Selfie

Josh was the funniest with his intermission question.

I'm glad we got to go! It's so much fun being a parent and watching your kids be amazed. We are so fortunate!

Our #DisneySide Valentine's Party {+ giveaway}

The kids and I were so excited to host a Valentine's Party to show off our #DisneySide!  I was selected to be a host of a Disney Side @Home Celebration! The idea behind the party was to bring our love of Disney Parks to life. We decided to let our Disney Side shine by hosting a Valentine's party for our family and friends of all ages on Friday evening.

My sister graciously offered her house for the party and I quickly made up some invitations on HP Photo Paper with @MyPrintly. So easy and adorable!

Next we started gathering our Disney things.  I ordered a cake pop maker from Bon Ton and with Shop Runner I got it shipped overnight for free. It made the cutest brownie pops!

We had a fun filled prize table for the guests who participated in the games.

As guests started arriving they got to check out the prize table and talk with one another before we started snacking.

Here is a picture of the food table. Lots of goodies for Valentine's Day and plenty of Disney themed food! We had kettle corn, heart bell peppers and strawberries, Mickey tie-dye cake, Mickey pizzas, and Mickey brownie pops.

The Mickey Mouse pizzas we made disappeared quickly.

and the Mickey Mouse tie-dye cake was a huge hit as well!

At the party we played hot potato with a stuffed Lightning McQueen. This game was great for laughs.

A few guests tested their knowledge with Disney Trivia questions.

One of the sweetest things that happened was when my cousin's son got so excited he'd won a prize that he started jumping up and down. He ran to the prize table and gleefully chose a bottle of princess nail polish and ran back to show his dad. He dad started laughing that he'd chosen nail polish from all of the prizes on the table, but then he excitedly exclaimed, "It's for Mom!" So sweet!

We played Pin the Nose on Olaf (I used this printable to print it poster size).

We played Disney Bingo.

We made Valentine's Day cards for Ronald McDonald House like I mentioned here.

A few guests completed Disney themed activity sheets and coloring pages.

This was so much fun that it might become an annual event in our family. Everyone loves Disney and Valentine's Day is a good time to get together for silly games and treats.

Check out the many ways you can host your own Disney Side @Home Celebration here. There are some really cute ideas!

In addition, if you weren't able to attend I still have several Disney themed prizes leftover from our prize table. I'll select a name on Friday night and the winner will receive a prize pack full of Disney stuff from Disney Parks, Mom Select, and myself. Use the widget below for your chance to win. Good luck and happy Valentine's Day, friends!




Disney Side Prize Pack