Spring Break 2010

What a great Spring Break we had. We spent time with our family and friends at Gattitown, the Science Museum, and the zoo. We also had fun eating lunch outside a few days- once on the deck at Kiefers, on the playground at the zoo, and under an umbrella at Renaissance with a pretzeldog and a coke. One of my grandmothers (Nan, for those of you who know the fam.) has been in the hospital, so we visited her in the middle of the week and went to Brent's for a FABULOUS hamburger- can't wait for the renovations to be complete so we can go back and try out their breakfast. Nan got to go home the next day so Wilson got to spend the night with Granna. Saturday was the annual St. Paddy's 5k & parade. The boys went down for the races, but Moo was a little under the weather so she and I stayed home. They had a great time and ran well- Wilson placed 2nd in the 5 and under category. We ended the week celebrating my grandfather's 88th birthday at my grandparent's house after church. One thing about Spring Break in MS never changes- the crazy weather. The heaters were on on the porch at Kiefers Monday, we got a little sweaty at the zoo on Thursday, and it was snowing on us on the way to church on Sunday.

Pinkalicious

Pinkalicious is Miller's favorite book right now. We read it daily while holding the plush character doll. She's just about got it memorized. So, in honor of her new literary discovery we decided to try baking cupcakes one day. This was her first adventure in the kitchen and she did fairly well- although she takes right after me, more batter in the mouth than in the pan! We also made a few in ice cream cones, which was a huge success and much easier for a toddler to eat. She had fun dumping stuff in the bowl, counting the eggs, and putting the sprinkles on. They turned out very cute and quite tasty, if we do say so ourselves!

Anyone Else Dream About Possums Last Night?

I did. The following took place under the deck in our backyard. It did not end well for the possum. Unfortunately it was a fighter and it took the better part of the afternoon and evening to die. Another big thank you to our neighbor Will for coming to our rescue. These things always happen when Phil has a meeting after work. Jack is really good at being a wire fox terrier (click & scroll down to "origin"). He was in our backyard going ballistic- I could hear him all the way upstairs. I went out to see what in the holy heck he was barking at and couldn't find him. He was under the deck, nose to nose scraping with this possum. I tried to remain calm but was really worried about Jack's underbelly coming into contact with possum claws. And, as I said, he's really good at being a WFT- he isn't going to leave something in a hole until it's got a gun pointed at its head. It's what they're bread for- no training required as you'll see in the video. Thankfully the possum grew tired of fighting and ran to an area under the deck where he Jack were separated by a joist. That's where our video picks up- I could be composed enough to video! I'll spare you all the gory details but Phil came home from work and attempted to, well you know, in the afternoon when Jack discovered it but we had to wait for Will to get home to finish the job with a more powerful weapon. It was a long day. Jack was worn out and extremely dirty. I'm thinking about tearing out the deck this weekend- anyone want to get some frustration out with a sledge hammer? Dirt cheap therapy, this Saturday, my backyard.

Treats for a Princess

Thank you Ms Ann for having princess cookies at the Bagel. Granna and Miller spent the day together last week while Wilson went through the torture of the stomach bug! This was just what they needed to make it until nap time.

Miller's new spot

Wilson gave Miller this baby doll high chair for her birthday. He was so excited about it he couldn't wait for her real b'day for her to open, she opened on her "party day". Which left me with a 2 year old insisting on her new toy, about 1000 screws and pieces of pink particle board cut loosely in the shape of a high chair, 5- 2year olds on there way to my house, and a 5 year old who lost interest after the paper came off and was no help what so ever! We got it put together, but Miller did not get to eat breakfast before her party. She made up for it that night, though. She put her PJ's on and I turned around to find HER squeezed into the baby chair. Notice the tummy hanging over the tray. What a mess.

26.2

The day after Miller's birthday Phil and I left for Orlando where Phil ran his first marathon. It was below freezing the entire time and the water provided on the course was frozen. We had to get up around 3:00am to be on a bus to the start by 4:00. Despite this Phil completed it in just a few minutes over 4 hours and lived to tell about it! He had a tag on his shoe that would send text messages to me letting me know where he was, his pace, and his expected finishing times. I tried to pass the messages along to our family at home, but seeing as it was about 4:00 in the morning here and taking my hands out of my mittens was excruciatingly painful- I gave up and we just called everyone from the hotel when he was done. Before we left, I was able to put his anticipated time in on the race website and it put together an itinerary of where I should be when to see him. It was so cold that I mainly just did laps around the parks on the monorail until it got close to time for a sighting. Below are some videos that I got of the race. Sadly I missed him coming across the finish line. I really don't know how, other than the fact that 26,000 people ran the race. Oh well, thank goodness for cell phones. He called me when he finished and we were able to find each other. What's funny is that that was not the first time we'd talked since he started the race. It was kind of bizarre to have him call me while he was racing, but on the other hand, it would be a long 4 hours just riding around with my book!

This is the wheel chair racers- pretty impressive

This is about mile 4. I totally lucked up and was on the same side of the road that his wave was on.

This would be the last time I would see him on the course. This is right after he ran through the castle in Magic Kingdom. Look for a guy in a yellow shirt- Phil's behind him in a black shirt & grey hat. At least I think that's him. Pretend with me will you- otherwise I was in the freezing cold for nothing. Little did I know they literally ran right through the grounds of our hotel- I could have just stayed there and had him call me when he was getting close. Oh well, I wouldn't have missed my own race through the parks attempting catch him- it was pretty fun!

The kids stayed home and were shuffled between family and friends- thanks so much to everyone who took a turn with them. It had been three years since we had a grown up only trip! We had such a blast- I think our favorite part was all the new restaurants we tried. We ate at one of the African places at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, an Irish pub complete with dancers, took in the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues, had Italian in a great spot at our hotel, and finished the week off eating diner with the princesses at the castle in Norway at Epcot. We did not know that we were going to be dining with royalty (or having our picture taken with them) so that was a pretty fun surprise. Just FYI with anyone with little girls- this is a great deal. You get a great meal and several pictures taken with Belle befor

e you are seated. While you're eating your pictures are delivered to your table. Belle was quite impressed with my Beast- she said her's had never run a marathon! We also had a couples massage the day after the marathon, went to a movie one afternoon, walked around the boardwalk area, and enjoyed one day park hopping.