Happy Easter!

Sweet Blog Version: The kids and I decorated Easter eggs yesterday. The boys had so much fun, and we got several really cool looking eggs out of it.

Reality: Anna screamed and threw such a fit that Jared eventually took her out of the room. Aidan kept wiping his dye-stained fingers on his clothes to clean them off. Austin dropped six or seven eggs and cracked them. He also kept dropping the eggs into the water from far away so that the colored water splashed everywhere. Aidan and Austin fought about whose eggs were whose, whose eggs looked better, whose eggs were the coolest color, etc.

Outcome: The boys had a fantastic time, and so did I once I relaxed and let them be kids.

Catch-up Post

I'm quite a bit behind on this post. Several weeks ago, my friend, Beth, who is Anna's BFF's mom, told me about an indoor water park in Gatlinburg that they were going to for Spring Break. She invited us to go, and Jared and I decided to take the plunge and spend the money for another vacation with the kids (other than our annual Disney trip). We decided to surprise the kids so we loaded them up for the seven hour drive and said we were going shopping at the outlets. Instead, we pulled up to the Wilderness at the Smokies in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The kids didn't quite understand what was going on until they walked into the lobby of the hotel and saw the Bachmore family (they have four kids very close in age with ours). We explained to all the kids that we had three interlocking rooms and that there was an indoor water park at the hotel. They FREAKED! Needless to say, it was a fabulous time with screaming, squealing, wrestling, and splashing with some fighting and crying mixed in.

At the end of the two days at the water park, we said our goodbyes to the Bachmores, piled back in the car and took a scenic drive through the Smoky Mountains. The kids were playing with their DSs while Jared and I nagged them to look at all the beautiful scenery they were missing. The boys threw us an occasional "uh uh" without looking up from their games, so we finally gave up and just enjoyed it ourselves. We did force everyone to get out of the car once for a picture.

What we didn't tell the kids when we said goodbye to the Bachmores was that we were actually meeting up with them again. Very long story short, we met them at a three bedroom cabin complete with hot tub, air hockey table, pool table, old school arcade and theater room. The cabin was three stories, and the kids just could not keep their mouths closed while they walked around and looked at it all. It would be a GREAT place to have a family reunion or just get a bunch of friends together for a fun weekend with fun for adults and kids (who's in???).

Here are a few pictures...

Anna jumping on the top bunk of the bunk beds.

This was one of several bad parenting decisions over the weekend.

"The Luge"

We rode up to the top of part of the mountain on a ski lift (freaked me out - Austin was fine!) and then rode the luge down the mountain. We LOVED it! Jared got to do it with Aidan, too.

Fun times

This weekend, Jared is in Talladega enjoying a much needed man's weekend. A group of seven guys headed up and are camping out and watching the race. The kids and I have a big weekend planned, including a family sleepover with our good friends, The Bachmores (their Dad is also slumming it in Talladega!). The highlight of Aidan's weekend is his plan to watch Empire Strikes Back on Sunday.

Air Show

The Blue Angels came to perform a couple of weekends ago, and one of the "perks" of having a jet pilot for a hubby is getting to go on the friends and family day to see them perform. This means not having to fight with thousands of other people for a parking space. It was a beautiful day, so we took the family to see the show. The last time I saw the Blues was when one of the pilots was killed at the show, so I really needed a happy memory to erase that last one. Jared went early with the boys, and I came up later once Anna had napped. By the time the Blues performed (which is at the end of the show), the kids were pretty much done. Austin wanted to go home, and Anna only cared about eating snacks. Aidan sat and watched but looked underwhelmed. Perhaps we don't have a third generation jet pilot in our family... Even though I've seen the Blues so many times now, it *never* gets old to me! I asked Jared what he was thinking seeing the F18s out there, and he said he wasn't missing it too much. Then they all started their engines, and he said, "I miss that noise, though!" It was great being around the "big jets" again; I forget how much I miss hearing them! If you've never been to a Blue Angels show, you really have to go. They play great music to get you all pumped up, and the pilots are truly remarkable with the stunts they can do. Anna was showing that she obviously inherited her mother's fine dancing skills because she was breaking it down "Florida Theater" style the whole time. And to think someday she'll be exhibiting those fabulous moves while holding a screwdriver over her head... it warms my heart. :-)

Anna and her BFF, Abbie, before the Blues performed

The boys sporting their hearing protection

Apparently, Anna didn't think hers went with her outfit because she refused to wear it.

Happy Birthday, Maddux!

On April 1, Maddux turned EIGHT! I can't believe he has been part of our family for such a long time. To celebrate his eight years, we got Maddux a new doggie bed made out of memory foam to help his aching joints. He had doggie ice cream, and we had brownies in the shape of dog bones. The kids thought it was great! That doggie ice cream will be the end of Maddux's treats for a while because my college roommate, Dr. Portus, called and reamed me out for having such a fat dog. She has put an end to our treats for Maddux and has encouraged us to cut back his food intake until he loses 15 pounds! :-o I'll see how much luck I have convincing the children to stop spilling food on the floor for him or for leaving food unattended that he sweeps in and takes care of. Maddux, we love you!

Oompa Loompa

Austin's school did a St. Jude's fundraiser. To celebrate the end of their fundraising week, they had a parade. His classroom's theme was Willy Wonka. His classroom was decorated like Candy Land, and all of the kids dressed up as Oompa Loompas. I was the only mom that put white eyebrows on her child - MISTAKE! When I got there, the teacher loved them so much, I got volunteered to paint them on 11 other children. I'm pretty sure two of those kids hate me now, and I made one little girl cry when she saw herself. I slipped her a piece of candy from Candy Land, and she was all smiles again. Thank you again to the friends and family that donated money and helped Austin meet and exceed his fundraising goal!

Austin and his good friend, Kira, who is moving to Pensacola after Easter. :-(