Disney Part 1

Reese was quite a little trooper today. He went with me to have my blood drawn, to blockbuster and over to my friends house to pick up address labels. He also decided that he wanted to help me snap my green beans for dinner. I ended up giving him a little bowl of his own so he could work- and then I could resnap

On to Disney World.

My entire family went on the trip. Both of my parents, my siblings, their spouses and kids. We had 11 total. It was a challenge at times to keep up with such a large group but for the most part we all stayed together throughout the parks. Reese was fantastic on the trip. He loved to ride the rides, rarely cried, and took a nap everyday in his stroller. The only bad thing on the entire trip was that there was a down pour every day. I am so glad that my mom bought a stroller rain cover for me! Reese had his own seat on the plane and did fantastic on the ride there and back. Having a dedicated seat and his car seat sure beats him on my lap like I did last year.

On Sunday we went to Animal Kingdom. Reese loved the Safari ride and especially looking at the tigers in the viewing area. He loved the Bugs Life movie in the big tree. He wasn't scared of the wind, water, bugs etc that you feel in the 4d adventure. He loved to look at the animals and point at all of the birds. He calls all types of birds "ducks" of course. He ran around in the playground forever- up and down the stairs and slides- he wore Kelley and I out for sure!

Notice how I am coming down the slide after him and he is running off to go againOn Monday we went to Magic Kingdom. We started the morning with a character breakfast. If you have ever seen Reese's Easter Bunny or Santa pictures you know he doesn't like stuffed animals. He screamed at the first few at the breakfast, but came around to liking them when my Dad took him over and held him at eye level. He rode the Aladdin Flying Carpet, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean- you name it. He also saw the family favorite Tiki Bird Show. He stayed up late that night to see the Light Parade and the fireworks. He is a solid 7:30 pm bedtime kid, but did well staying up later. I need to give up trying to take pictures of the light parade. We will call these my art pictures for the trip:)We took the day off Tues to spend time around the resort and hit the pool. We hit Downtown Disney in the afternoon.Tuesday night, he stayed home while my Dad, Brent, Heather and I went to a nice dinner at Emerils.

On Wednesday we went to MGM. In the past, MGM has been a half day park for me. With Reese, we didn't have enough time to do it all. I found myself seeing DW in a whole new light when you spend your day going to Toddler shows. He actually sat on my lap for 30 min to watch the Playhouse Disney stage show and the Little Mermaid show. We liked the backlot tour - especially since Nestor was chosen to be in the show- we all had a good laugh over him being drenched. The kids and I stayed a bit later to see the High School Music show but it was rained out- I was bummed because this year I actually saw the movie and the show would have made sense (who is going with me to the theater on Oct 24 for the HSM 3?). Wednesday night was my turn to watch the kids while Kelley, Nestor, Mom and Dad went out for their dinner. I cooked my chicken cacciatore for the group and it was a hit.

Nestor after being in the backlot tour show

Hanging out with the big boys

Playground funThis is getting really long so I will cover Thursday and Friday another day. We had 4 cameras on this trip and I dont have pictures from my mom, sister or brother yet. Expect to see more and better pictures in my monthly slide show since I only took 60 on the entire trip (hello- I was the single parent with a toddler and my hands were full!)

Friends and Fun

Yesterday was a fun day. I had 2 friends over yesterday for a play group and then went with friends to see Mamma Mia. I had high expectations after seeing the show on Broadway and listening to the sound track frequently. I think Meryl Streep isn't right for the role and thought it was funny to see Pierce Brosnon sing but over all pretty good.We all decided to move to Greece after seeing the movie. I really wanted to go to Greece,Spain and Italy before I had kids- maybe one day.

Reese kept taking out Gianna's hair bows I have had 6 local friends change jobs in a little over a month- 4 of who lost their jobs. They are all so at peace with it and know that God will provide. This tested my faith because I don't know that I could be so calm if Rusty lost his job. Luckily, Rusty has about the most stable job you can so its not an issue but it got me thinking how thankful I am. A few examples

1.I have a wonderful husband who loves me and accepts all my shortcomings. He even went out of his way this week to tell me how much he appreciates all that I do for the family and how I am an independent wife who can take care of things on the home front while he is gone.
2.I have a healthy child who is a huge blessing to us
3. I have wonderful friends and family who support me
4. I have a great job which allows me to contribute to the family income, stimulate my mind, and provide the creative outlet I need. I have a job where I can work part time from home and spend a lot of time with Reese. I am fortunate to be one of the few military wives who can say that I have a job wherever I go
5. We have a great house (even though I am begging Rusty to let us move a mile down the street to another neighborhood)
6. We have cars that are paid for and don't give us any problems
7. We have been fortunate to be able to save our 6 months expenses in case a crisis occurs
8. We have a great church that we both enjoy.
9.Both of our parents live reasonable close so we get to see them alot
10. We all have our health
11. I have wonderful parents who never treat me any differently because of my adoption

Reese is finally no longer scared of the sprinkler (ignore his outfit - I didnt want him messing up his good pants). He also likes to try to drink from itMy little pointer

Seattle part 2

I am going to finish blogging about my Washington trip and then talk about Disney tomorrow.

I will note a few things that happened today before I forget.

1. I had to wake Reese up this morning (which I rarely do) and it took a lot of effort. He is a tired boy from his trip! I am no Disney World and he made that apparent with demanding that we go outside in the 100 degree weather today:)

2. Reese went back to MDO today and had a great day. It was great to be on vacation for 2 weeks but its nice to be back into a routine today

3. Reese actually pointed at the tv and the remote and demanded it be turned on. Reese has never been allowed to watch tv with me (Rusty allows him to watch a few "educational" fishing shows). I blame this on Disney World and all the tv he saw on the rides:)

4. Rusty was talking about how he is ready to come home. I said I would go and count the days and he said there was no need because the answer is 17! Poor Rusty is missing Reese terribly and cant wait to see him

We had a great time at Alderbrook Resort and Spa. We had a fantastic room with a great view of the canal. We had a fantastic dinner and breakfast (finally), sat out by the fire, walked around the dock and basically just relaxed. We were headed back to Seattle when Rusty suggested we detour to Mt Rainer (his way of getting out of going to Seattle). Mt Rainer is really beautiful and its really great because we could drive to look out points and not have to hike to see the sights! We drove around the mountains for hours and saw some amazing views.

We pulled into Seattle in the early evening. We had a wonderful suite at the Hyatt in downtown Seattle. It was a great location because we could walk everywhere. We were walking distance to REI and Nordstrom so we were both happy! The first night walked down to PF Changs and were so excited to have a familiar meal that we could count on.

We spent all day Tuesday in downtown Seattle. We started the morning at Pike's Place Market (Rusty couldn't get enough of it- he had already been there 2 weeks before and we attempted to make 3 trips there on our trip). We saw several other sights including the original Starbucks, the Hammering Man, the Library, and shopping. We also went to the 35th floor of the Smith building to view the city (alternative to the space needle). We took the monorail over to Seattle center where we saw the Space Needle (but didn't pay the crazy $ to go up in it). We took a break at the fountain there watching the kids run around and play. We also hit the town shopping.

view from our room

view from the Smith Tower the library Pioneer SquarePikes Place MarketThe Original StarbucksTrying to mimic the cover of the Frommers guide:)

I flew out midday Wednesday, so we got up early to drive around the city. We drove around the Univ of Washington Campus and the Freemont area. We also went to the locks to watch the fish ladder and the boats pass by.

We had a great time together in Seattle. We haven't taken a trip alone since Hawaii and it was LONG overdue. The only thing that didnt go as planned on the entire trip was that I left my glasses in the rental car in WA so I had to get an eye exam and new glasses on the 1 day I was home before going to Disney World (which I needed to do anyway so in a way it was good)

We are home

Hooray for being home! I have been home 36 hrs in over 2 weeks and have a lot of work cut out for me!

We had a blast at Disney World. Reese was such a trooper and loved every minute of it. Reese was very flexible, had no allergic reactions (DW is actually very accommodating, but I usually brought my own food for him), and rode every ride that he could(for his height).

I will write more tomorrow and get some pictures posted.

Travel part 1

Yeah for getting to a hotel with a computer!

Reese is at grandma and grandpas and having the time of his life. Somehow he even managed to stay up until 10:30 on the 4th to see fireworks and went to the Belton parade. Sounds like he will love parades at Disney

Synopsis of my trip
On my flight from Austin to Santa Anna I sat next to a UT student who was so much fun. She is from Laguna Hills CA but is on the UT Tennis team. We talked alot about Laguna Beach/The Hills and The Real Housewives of OC. Her sister dates Colton who is one of the kids on the show- so she was really in the know.

On my flight from Santa Anna to Seattle I sat next to another OC person and we talked about Laguna Beach/The Hills and The Real Housewives of OC, our kids, and read People/In Touch/Us Weekly etc.

Rusty picked me up at the airport and we headed off to on our first trek. We took the fairy from Seattle to Bainbridge Island and then up to Lake Crescent(the North part of Olympic National Park). You could see to the bottom of the lake- thats how clear it was. We stayed in an OK room but it was a great lodge and a great view. It was in Olympic National Park and had a very quaint feeling. We also stopped in Port Townsend and walked around the city.

The next morning we took a 1.5 mile hike to a waterfall near Lake Crescent. We got in the car and headed off to Hurricane Ridge in the park. We drove up a mountain for 17 miles (1 hr) hiked in the cold and rain another 3 miles ( 1 1/2 pretty much straight up the mountain) to see a fantastic view. Too bad all we could see was fog!!!!!!!!!

We headed back in the car for another long drive to Lake Quinault (the East part of Olympic National Park). It was a cute lodge and a nice lake but we liked the one at Crescent better. Rusty thought it was more touristy. They liked to charge alot for their food and have mediocre service.

Today we took a 4 1/2 mile hike from the lodge through the rainforest (Quinault is in the rainforest part of Olympic National Park) and then hiked to see the worlds largest sitka spruce tree and red cedar tree. Very impressive. I think we hiked about 6 miles today and we are still doing good.

We got in the car and went once again 2 more hours. We stopped in Aberdeen (hometown of Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain) and had way too much fried food at the local dinner.

We are now at the Aberdeen Resort and Spa (outside the East side of Olympic National Park) and having a great time. We have had the best food yet and have a fantastic room and view. I would highly recommend this resort. They even gave us a $40 gas card so you cant beat that (the lowest gas we saw has been $4.19 and a huge line and the highest I think $4.35). We have covered over 500 miles so far. Tomorrow we head to Seattle where we will park the car and ride public transit!

Hello from Belton- again

Rusty has one again informed me that he looks forward to a daily post - so I guess I will try my best to not miss a day. On that note- I wont blog again for several days because I am off to Seattle in the morning!!

Reese is having a blast at Grandma and Grandpa's in Belton (yes we were just here 4 days ago). He played in the garage and on the riding lawn mower. He is such a little show boat for his grandparents. He keeps wanting to get into the travel trailer- I guess he wonders whats in the house on wheels!

Today was a crazy busy day at work so I packed myself in less than 5 min so that I could pick Reese up from school on time and head straight to Belton. We will see once I get to Washington what I missed!

I am amazed at how much Reese changes daily. His communication skills are greatly increasing by the day. I am convinced he understands everything I say pretty much.

I found that Tyson Chicken Nuggets don't have milk so we tried them last night. HE LOVED THEM! Yeah for a quick and easy meal that Reese can eat. I don't plan to feed them to him often but it will be nice for days when we are in a crunch.

Reese dumped his chalk bucket all over his head and was covered yesterday- as soon as I got the camera he was in the sand pit and dusted off- so no picture for today.

Goodbye

Today we said goodbye to Amber and to my Aunt Trula.

I spent the afternoon at her funeral and burial. There were so many family members who came. It was really nice to see such a great turn out and to see so many family members I haven't seen in so long.

Reese had a fever today so he stayed home with me. That's until his babysitter came for me to go to the funeral and his regular Tues night one came for me to go to bible study