Tyler's prayer

Tyler is the biggest Super Mario Bros. fan I know. Here he is in his Mario t-shirt playing Mario Bros.
And here he is again...this time Mariokart.
He even had my mom (his Nonna) play...I mean, really, who can resist a sweet little guy begging you to try, even if you have played very little in your life. He'll say "it's a wittow (little) tricky for you, but it's not too tricky for ME!"

This evening he and I were playing Mario 3 on the original Nintendo, and we made it to World 7 while James and Logan watched a movie together. Tyler was SO excited to get to 'plant world'. He really wanted to keep playing, but honestly, the kiddos need sleep...and so do their parents...so we left it paused to continue tomorrow. ANYway, as Tyler was getting ready for bed, he asked to be the one to say the prayer tonight. This is what he prayed:

"Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for my famiwy (family), thank you for our house, thank you that Santa can bring us four controwers (he really wants two extra controllers for the wii), please bless that Santa will bring me new super Mario Brothers for the wii, please bless us that we can get to level 8 tomorrow on Mario free (three). In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

I have to think our Father in Heaven gets a chuckle out of the prayers from little ones. :-)

The Ebay Story

You may know what the above toy is. We had no idea. Logan found this at the local goodwill outlet (aka the Treasure Store). He bought it for about 88 cents. He hoped to use it for Pokemon cards. When he got home, he realized the Pokemon cards didn't fit. I decided to look it up and see what it was for. My search revealed that this toy was not only sold out at amazon and toy stores alike, it was also a hot item for 2009. I asked Logan if he wanted to try his luck at ebay since he didn't own any yugioh cards, and that's what it was for. We told him any money he made on it was his to keep. We had no idea....
Here's Logan with his listing up on ebay. He was pretty excited and checked it more than James checks stocks. As soon as he was up in the morning, he was checking his listing. As soon as he got home from school, he was checking his listing. We knew the play by play of how many 'watchers,' how many bids, and how much the top bid was.
When the auction closed, the top bidder paid $81.18. EIGHTY ONE DOLLARS AND EIGHTEEN CENTS! Can you believe it?! We couldn't. Logan was the happiest kid in the world.
We decided we're going to put Logan to work as a bargain hunter/ebay seller. Who would have thought that that 88 cents would go so far?! You can't beat that return on investment. :-)
Here's Logan ready to ship off the treasure. Notice the bulging wallet....aaaah, my little Mr. Moneybags. ha ha ha
Way to go Logey!

Happy Turkey Week!

I am so thankful for so many things. I'm going to focus on my five favorites. :-) Almost all of them are pictured with me in this pic. And no, though I love flowers, greenery, grass, benches, and..umm...air, that's not what I'm talking about. :-)First of all, I love my man. He takes such good care of me and the kiddos- and he works hard so I can stay home with the little ones. I am so thankful for my sweet hubby.
Second, I'm thankful for my darling Lukey- he makes me laugh when I remember things he's done, said, etc. He sends train whistles floating through the air more than I ever imagined he would. I am so grateful to know I'll raise him when we are together again.
Even with food in his mouth he's cute. (This boy never sat still long- this pic is clearer than most, probably because he was strapped in to his carseat. ha ha)
Here's Luke loving on the bronze baby monkey at the San Diego zoo. He LOVES the zoo.
This is the third thing on my list: my amazing Wolverine...Logey bear. This kid keeps me on my toes- he's smart, fun, and very creative. He has quite the skills when it comes to making money on ebay...who would have thought?! (An awesome story for another time.) I love watching him figure things out. He also has amazing speed and the ability to do cherry bomb kicks in kickball. It is even cooler than it sounds, I guarantee.

Tyler-man, aka Mario, is a hoot! This little guy lives and breathes Mariokart Wii. I've never seen someone so enthralled with video games....ok, maybe his dad....ha ha. He loves to help people, and keeps me laughing with his comments. (ex: He was supposed to be sleeping, but was caugh red-handed in the hallway. He lost video games and his response was, "Not again! GOSH!" (Said in a Napoleon Dynamite voice...no kidding.)
What a sweetie. The fifth thing on my 'thankful list' is my darling Katie. She is every mom's dream- she loves to shop, her first word was 'shoes', she lets me braid her hair, and she has a flair for the dramatic. I may be rethinking that last one as she hits puberty...but right now it is VERY cute. :-)

I'm a lucky girl. I have so much to be grateful for, including each of you! With all these incredible people surrounding me, and a knowledge that our Savior Jesus Christ has died that we may live with Him again, I am blessed in ways difficult to express in words. I hope you are all able to take a minute to be thankful to a loving Heavenly Father who has provided so many amazing blessings. Happy Thanksgiving!

Nanna

Many of you know that James' dear grandmother went to be with our Father in Heaven this past month. We were able to spend some time with her the last couple of days before she passed- tender moments I will never forget. Certainly the love of her life and dear husband Homer was waiting with open arms as he greeted her at Heaven's gate. I thought I would post a few pics in her honor, even if they are repeats on my blog.

This is James' with Nanna at her 85th birthday party the beginning of September. We had such a wonderful visit with her and many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren as we celebrated her birthday. This is her favorite cake- coconut- and it was FANTASTIC!!! YUMM!!
This picture was taken at James' graduation from graduate school. She came up to visit, and we were thrilled to get to entertain her and James' mom. Nanna didn't enjoy the traveling much, though she did enjoy the company- but she told us she was never leaving Chickamauga again. :-) We were so glad she hadn't decided that prior to coming. We had many a fun conversation, filled out crossword puzzles (did you know some people are actually smart enough to FINISH those?! Nanna did tons of them- she'd let us help, but I think she pretty much always already knew the answers. It was awesome!)

And here's one of her entertaining Katie...or maybe Katie was doing the entertaining. Either way she 'loved these babies.' Nanna is a dear woman- we are so happy to know that families can be together forever, and that Nanna is celebrating, dancing, and getting re-acquainted with the many friends and family she has been missing for quite a while. They are no doubt laughing loud and causing quite a stir. I like to think that she's rocking my sweet baby Luke every now and then as well (that is if he stays still enough in Heaven for someone to rock him....he certainly wasn't still very often on earth!!) I'm so grateful for the peace I feel because of the knowledge of Heaven I have. Missing our loved ones is not fun, but it certainly isn't for forever- and knowing they're not only needed in Heaven, but they're not alone- and they're happy makes it somehow easier to let them go until we get to see them again.

We love you Nanna!

Where've we been?!

Hello Friends and Family!! So where in the world have we been since May?! First and foremost, may I apologize to our loyal followers that have no doubt been cursing our names each and every time they went to check up on us and we were either still in Disney World or celebrating with my brother on his wedding engagement. :-) Life has been BUSY but FANTASTIC!! I believe I'll pick up where I left off with Disney Day 3.
Katie LOVED the fresh pineapple. She got super sticky, but was super happy...so it was totally worth it.

Here's Tyler digging in to the pineapple as well. Yum Yum!!!One of the coolest parts of Disney Day 3 was when James (how hot does he look in his wet suit?! yumm!) and my brother Jonny (on the left) got to celebrate their graduations by going scuba diving INSIDE the aquarium at the Living Seas in Epcot! Dad (on the right) went as a chaperon for these two wild graduates, but he ended up being just as wild as the other two- in fact he will likely be featured in a number of photos of Epcot visitors that day, as people kept asking him to pose by the glass and he would kindly swim over and smile. It was awesome! :-) (ps I just learned that chaperon can be spelled chaperone as well, but blogger considers the latter misspelled.) They all sounded like they had a blast and a half. We had a great time looking at them in the aquarium- it's pretty cool that you can see 6 foot wide turtles and enormous sharks swimming around... and then your husband swims by and waves. Here are some cool pics of us looking at James through the glass.
Katie thought it was awesome to see Daddy!
The boys had a blast as well. They kept telling kids that would come look in the glass that their Daddy was in there swimming. :-) Tyler especially tried to impress this little girl- first with counting to five, then by telling her he had a brother, and then by pointing out that his dad was in the tank. I wish I had it on video. She seemed thoroughly impressed. ;-)

JONNY"S ENGAGED!

Hey Folks- I just got home from another fun summer getaway, and I HAD to post the great news!! My oldest younger brother Jonathan (Jonny) is getting married!!! I am THRILLED for him! He is a fantastic guy and he's going to make a GREAT hubby! From what it sounds like Erin is perfect for him- we're so excited for them!! And just so my faithful followers know, I DO plan to get back to posting the millions of pics I have from the summer once school is in...but for right now I'm enjoying the rest of the break! Hope you're all doing the same!! CONGRATS JONNY & ERIN!! (Their wedding blog is on the right under 'jonny and erin's wedding' if you're interested.)

More Disney Day 3

If you plan to head to Disney World in the summer, might I suggest a water squirting fan. Logan LOVED his- and it kept him quite cool...as you can see.
Logan is a very creative guy. In this picture, you can see Logan's 'creation' with his pasta noodles- he has placed a number of them in the pasta sauce. When the waiter came to see if he could clear Logan's plate, James replied, "No, he's...uh....making art." James was so proud. I could NOT stop laughing! :-)
Even big guys get tired after a big day of fighting the Dark Side and creating masterpieces with lunch. Logan took a cat nap in the stroller- a VERY rare event.


I love James. I love that he agreed to a trip to Disney World- I couldn't imagine the 'Happiest Place on Earth' without him. Thanks Honey!

Disney Day 3: JEDI DAY!

Who WOULDN'T pick these two adorable little Jedi wannabes? We made it to the first show of the Jedi Training Academy, wore Star Wars clothing, and of course packed the light sabers in hopes of the boys getting picked to fight the actual Darth Vader and become Padawans. We were THRILLED when the boys were BOTH picked!!!
Logan was very proud- and all business as he learned the moves he would need to pass his test.

Tyler was all smiles- you could NOT wipe the smile off of his face as he was given a robe, a light saber, and then taught the sequence of light saber moves. Watching the boys do this was the highlight of the trip by FAR! We came for Star Wars weekend- and it was better than we could have imagined!
Here's Tyler using "freestyle" moves...that sequence was alot for a 2 year old to remember! :-)
Logan knew all the moves and did them with conviction. He was the first one to fight Darth Vader- and was VERY proud to receive his certificate that proved he was now a padawan. :-) Way to go my sweet little Jedis!!

Disney Day 2: Animal Kingdom

The Lion King Show, Birds of Wonder, Dinosaurs, a Safari, fanTAStic fruit, and a gorgeous peaceful atmosphere among other things made for an amazing day!!

Katie adores Uncle Jonny. :-) This was taken right before he hit me in the face. hahaha It was an accident, though, so I'll forgive him. We're waiting for the dinosaur ride. (Logan earned a dinosaur to take home because he was so brave on this ride!....I honestly didn't remember it being that scary.)
My brave men.

Can you see the red shirt? That's my honey!! Look closely and you can see Dad and Jonny too! James even convinced ME to go on this one... I was pretty convinced I'd be dead if I rode it, and said goodbye to each of my kids. Luckily, I didn't die- SHOCKING (or rather NOT shocking...thank you Electra) I know. Anyway, it was awesome, and I felt VERY cool having done it. It took me back to the good old days when I went on roller coasters all the time. I wouldn't have even thought to go had my bro Alex not said he went on stuff like that all the time...crazy kid.
Logan tried on Papa's hat...a souveniere he's had almost as long as his Maid of the Mist poncho, but way cooler! :-) (no idea why this caption looks like a link to something...)
Tyler tried on Papa's Indiana Jones hat, too- he pretty much does everything his brother does. ;-)

Katie just tried to keep cool...the soaker fan sure helped!

You can imagine our surprise when we ran into James' old roommate Brian and his wife Jessica! What a treat! It was so fun to see them and their beautiful family! This pic was taken right around the time that the poor lizard limped away to safety...it's a horrible story I will save for another time.

Here's Logan in 'Africa' playing an instrument.


Tyler's playing one as well! It was very cool.The back of the bus is always the coolest. Ask Logan. He knows all about what's cool now that he's gone to school.
This is his cool face.

And Tyler...you guessed it! Copying Logan. :-) So much energy at the end of the day...how do they do it?!

Disney Day 1: Magic Kingdom

Welcome to our FABULOUS DISNEY VACATION!!! We had a blast...and took tons of pics...let us begin! :-) The first day we walked down Main Street and were welcomed by all the beloved Disney characters we were hoping to see dancing in front of the castle. The boys were enthralled- and the day only got better! I love the live entertainment that always pops up randomly at Disney- and as we rounded the corner, there was a band.

I snapped a shot of the band so I could remember what the kiddos were looking at in the following pic: Look at their little faces! :-) Watching the kids react to things was by far my favorite part of the trip. What a different vacation it is to see it through their eyes!! Katie was the perfect age for this trip- not quite walking, so she didn't feel a need to get out of the stroller unless it was time to eat...which she did conveniently during each and every dark show or ride...she was in heaven! :-) Tyler was also the perfect age for this trip. :-) He was old enough to appreciate everything, but one week shy of turning 3...which meant he was free. AWESOME!
Logan was (you guessed it!) the perfect age for this trip as well. He was a gem- he knew the characters, got REALLY into each of the rides- asked lots of questions, had lots to talk about- he was all grown up...but not too grown up that he doesn't still hold on to Daddy's hand.
Waiting in line for our very first ride EVER at Disney World....It's a Small World!! I thought it'd be a good one to give my family a taste of what to expect during our week at the happiest place on earth. I was right to start here...THEY LOVED IT!! Katie was enjoying every minute of it- look how happy her little face is as she takes it all in!

"Please, Mommy, can we wide dat?" says Tyler.... YOU BET! We all hopped in line for the carousel and the boys immediately named their horses. Tyler's was 'Lucy' after his fave cousin...
Logan (always the funny man) named his 'Poof.' James and I could not stop laughing! :-) Poof because 'he goes so fast it's just a poof and he's gone'... we thought the horse just liked Mexican food. :-)Ariel's Grotto provided a great place to cool off...thank goodness for quick drying clothes and the sham-wow. (Infomercial you MUST see...actually I've never seen the commercial- but I have used a Sham-wow and all I can say is, 'wow!' We used it throughout the week and it never failed to amaze us.)
After a VERY full day, Tyler finally had enough- he fell asleep in James' arms. He slept the entire time we waited in line for the Haunted Mansion...and woke up just early enough to be scared to have to go in. Both boys ducked their heads into James and I, squeezed their eyes tight, and listened to me sing them church songs throughout the ride. They were quiet throughout- so I figured 'Mission Accomplished.' (Probably would have skipped it though, looking back...)
And the highlight of the day?! Nonna, Papa, and Uncle Jonny joined us for the rest of the trip! The boys were thrilled!!! (And not just because they got their birthday presents...though that was certainly fun as well....aaah Nintendo DSs...a gift to parents everywhere who need a guaranteed child-distraction that can tuck in a small purse....)