So old

A few months ago we received a coupon in the mail for Universal Studios. I have never been and I thought this was good chance for Brandon and I to have some good "kid" fun without the kids. So we set our date and it was our first time pretending to be newlweds for THREE whole days and TWO whole nights (we've not done this long of a trip since we had kids, whoa!) We were giddy like a couple of kids. We were going to sleep in, ride the big rides, eat good, have a grand ole time. Some things went as planned and some things not so much.



The first day we decided to ride bikes cause we never do in Tallahassee for some reason. Anyway, we tried the new fancy seated bike and next time we'll stick with the traditional deal, but it was fun to try. We wore helmets cause we're out of practice....and old.



We got dinner and went to an evening session at the temple, that happens...never....we were there til closing!




The next morning we got up and got to Universal at opening time. They have a new rollercoaster that I really wanted to ride, you choose your own music but it was a two hour wait, we didn't....cause we're old. We rode a few rides that were interesting.

After lunch we were ready to head over to Islands of Adventure to get on the rollercoasters, what I had been waiting for....I said, let's do the hulk first, start off mild (can you see where this is going?). I didn't watch it once, we beelined it to the entrance and the whole time you're in line you're inside, so you don't see the ride. We get on I'm so excited and the part that goes clunk, clunk, clunk is inside as well and you can see the sky and I was thinking okay it's going to take off up there...um not, it took off early and I stopped screaming and opened my eyes fully when the ride stopped. What happened to me? I used to love rollercoasters...not anymore. I made a deal with my Father in Heaven in a very short amount of time that if I got off this one I wouldn't get on another. I did go peak at the dueling dragons cause I really wanted to go, but couldn't do it.

After I got off I watched it and said what are people thinking, those turns are so close, gracious!

So. Old.

It had to happen I suppose, but so soon?

At least Brandon is right there with me, he was done after the Hulk too. Thanks babe!







So we didn't stay at the park zooming the rides all day, instead we went and took a nap. Only appropriate right?

That night we shopped, probably at stores for old people.

All in all it was tons of fun though. So nice to be together, but one of the best parts was getting our kids back (thanks Mom!) and being a family again, I can enjoy that at any age.

Memories

Every once in a while, maybe while I'm remembering something from my childhood, I wonder what the memories of my children will be of theirs. School, our backyard, spongebob, being asked (commanded) to clean again and again, games of skipbo, seasons, Christmases, love? And more importantly what will I look like to them through adult eyes? Scary to think of, I'd like to pick and choose those please ;)! That's all I have to say about that.

Telling it like it is

* be sure to catch Laura's bday blog post below this one :)* - that couldn't wait and neither could this....

A few weeks ago the discussion in Sunday School was Joseph Smith/Book of Mormon and how you gained a testimony. I read the Book of Mormon before I joined the church and was logically converted by Joseph's story. I even had a blog entry in my head to the tune of- why would a boy of 14 'claim' to have seen Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to be ridiculed, why would a young man bring forth false scripture to be tarred and feathered and why would a husband and father fight for a fraud, ultimately give his life and never waiver...never.

Makes sense right? But I knew I couldn't give it justice so I let it be. That same week I chatted with a friend from high school who is very involved with their religion question me about Joseph Smith and for the first time in a long time I had a chance to defend the Prophet/Book of Mormon and it strenthened my testimony.

Today, during General Conference an apostle of the Lord, Elder Holland did it justice...here it is if you missed it...
http://www.lds.org/move/index.html?type=conference&event=Oct179&lang=english

She is

1. so her father's child

2. strong

3. sensitive

4. stubborn

5. smart

6. shoe savvy

and

she's (finally)

7. SEVEN

disclaimer- there are better pics of the early days just not on the computer for some reason..

still just 6 3/4

THE PARTY

so I made have a made a slight mistake in renting the Hannah Montana movie cause it's been Hannah Montana fever ever since (and she was only six and 3/4 at the time) and maybe another mistake by agreeing to that theme for the party. I felt like I was in the middle of a 13 year old's party.

They put on make-up, squealed, chased Cole, played Hannah Montana bingo, danced, ate pizza while watcing the HM concert and we finished with a pinata. I then carted a few home and Laura got to bed super late. I'm thinking we'll tone it down a bit next year.

This cake was a Laura original design that I tried to interrupt, didn't get it quite right, but she still liked it, so sweet of her ;).

Happy Birthday Laura, I hope it's a fabulous year!!!!!

Self Portaits

best I've seen in a while...
this is one of the ways she spends her time at soccer practice/games

I didn't, but I did

that could be applied to many aspects of my life for good or naught. This particular reference is to my third annual Women's Festival 5K. It's held in the Indianhead neighborhood, cute little area - with hills - small detail of much importance. I loved the hill factor the first year because going downhill gave me some steam. No so much the case this year.

I'm not a runner...why I've decided to take this venture up is beyond me. Until three years ago the only mile I ever ran was in high school for an ROTC requirement and I had a fierce retired Army colonel on my heels making sure I finished.

So some twenty years later, Brandon and I are on a date at a very non healthy mexican restuarant and I see a flyer advertising this race. I ask Brandon as he's rolling me to the car after dinner, you think I could do this? His response was, next year? This was two months before the race for the current year, fair question but I was still insulted and thereby determined.

I found a program called couch to 5k in two months, and thought, Hey that's me. It worked for the most part. It was a slow, painful start, but I started and kept with it. I was super nervous on race day. I ran/walked it but I finished it and I wasn't last, definitely in the bottom, but not last. I loved the atmosphere of the race, the different stories you could see.

I didn't run another race until the following year, same race, but not alone, MJ (six months prego) and MA (placed fourth in her age category- props to both) came along and that added an extra umph and I made better time.

I did the turkey trot that year as well and it was raining, but it was nice not to have the hills.

And finally to year three, great goodness, how did this get so winded? So I wasn't thinking doing the race, but my friend Rachel moved back into town and we started the couch to 5k program so I knew I needed to do this race and I really, really thought I might be able to run the whole thing. The Saturday before I ran two miles for the first time ever.

I tried psyching myself up, but I forgot about those hills, not about them all together, but their slight steepness in places, length in others and quantity.

I also ate tons of crap days before the race...go figure.


At one point as I was climbing one of the last two hills , I kept repeating... it's just a hill, it's gotta go down, it's just a hill, it's gotta go down.

cue Chariot's of Fire theme....

This hill decided it was not going down anytime soon, not high but long...I stopped chanting and one more hill after that I stopped running :(.

kill Chariot's of Fire theme.....

Bummer.

But,
cue Rocky theme....

I didn't accomplish all I wanted, I did come closer and I will continue until it's done.....

it's stated in cyberspace now so I have to live up to it.

I'm going to do the turkey trot again this year and hope for dry weather and give it my all...there are no goal threatening hills, not that I recall anyway. :)

kill Rocky theme

I wanna

go foreign, I am posting this so that I remember that.

For the most part I've always thought of leaving the mother country unappealing.
Seriously, we have everything and it's all so wonderfully familiar. If you are rude or offensive at least you're aware of how to do it, for the most part. I'm afraid in a foreign land I'd leave foot tracks everywhere of appalled people.

Wait, I kind of do that now. Anyways, it all changed today when I happened up this blog....

http://thelawfamilyblog.blogspot.com/

Beautiful.

I wanna.

Now just to sell off one of the kids to get a boarding pass. They're so crazy cute I would probably just have to rent them out while I was gone :), maybe a couple cause I'd Brandon to come too.

Always good to have something to work towards, just add this one to the list!