Here's our adventure! It was the best week of my life!

We are home!!! We arrived home late last night and we are exhausted! I have mountains of laundry to do and tons of pics to share, but for now, I'm loving on my kids! Keep checking back, more to come!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.....

I'M LEAVING ON A JET PLANE!!! Well in a few hours!!

Talk to you all on the flipside!

I'M GOING ON A CRUISE!!!!

Final countdown

The countdown is almost complete. We are almost completely packed, groceries have been purchased for the troops while we are away, the house is coming along nicely, and I am still sane! I'm not quite giddy excited, my guess is that will hit sometime tomorrow. For now, I'm keeping busy and staying focused. I think my little man can sense that we are leaving. He's been following me everywhere and has been asking to be held and snuggled. We've told him that Uncle Joshie and Aunt Berber are coming to stay and he seems excited about that. It's hard to tell exactly how much he gets.

A lot about this trip has surprised me. My latest surprise was about our flight. Now, remember, I haven't been on a plane in 9 years..since before 9/11....so there were many new things. My first discovery was that we had to pay for our luggage...HUH?!?!?! As if the price you are paying to fly isn't enough, pay $25 per suitcase! UGH. Then, last night, as I was viewing our reservation online, I noticed we didn't have assigned seats. Come to find out, you have to PAY if you want seats together!!! I am SOOO glad I found this as we would have gotten onto our flight and I wouldn't even have been able to sit with Matt!!! Ridiculous. But I am going to stop complaining now because in 38 hours, I'll be on my way to a dream vacation with my wonderful husband!!!!

I got an award!!! I've never gotten a blog award, so I am honored. My five little monkeys gave me this....



Apparently she thinks that I tell the truth here. What else could I do...this stuff is too crazy to make up!!! Here are the rules that came with the award: (I knew there was a catch!)

1. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.

2. Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog.

3. List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

Oh boy...here we go!

1. I want more children, not sure if that is biologically or not, but I'd love to have more!

2. I keep a small stash of candy bars in a secret place...shhhh.....

3. I am grossed out by bugs, even ants, it's silly....

4. I dream about Edward Cullen...a lot.

5. I am very guilty of" quick judging" people by their first appearance, it's awful.

6. I cannot for the life of me figure out my son's Transformers....it's just beyond me.

7. I hate seafood, all kinds, fish, shrimp, crab, lobster....UGH

8. I am a freak about traditions, they must be upheld to the letter.

9. I am good friends with several of my ex's....some are even married to my friends!

10. I am going on my first big trip ever in 4 days...you didn't think this list would be complete without ONE thing about the cruise, did you???


And now, the winners of the Honesty award are.....

Becky R, she has such an honest heart and pours it into each blog she writes
Mindy S, she has it all together and is brutally honest

Rhen, she is pregnant with #7 and I love her funny honesty!

Misty, her honesty is beautifully written and eloquent

Becky H, I love reading about her adventures!

MckMama, she is a beautiful example of honesty

Brittany, six kids and she isn't afraid to tell it like it is!!!

Congrats!!!

Guess what I just heard??!!?!?!?! THUNDER!!! I know it seems silly to be so excited about thunder, but it means that spring really will come eventually. It's also pouring rain, and I don't mean a gentle soaking rain, I mean a flash flood sort of rain. But anything is better than snow, so BRING IT ON!!

As we were getting ready for the cruise, a few friends suggested that we go tanning to get a nice base tan so we didn't burn in the bright, Caribbean sun. I have always felt that "fake baking" was silly and I saw no need. But, I certainly didn't want to be a lobster on our trip. So off to the tanning beds I went. I was very uncertain. My friends all told me to tan nude. Now, if you know me at all, you know that I am SOOOO self conscious about myself and the thought of being naked, laying in a bed was almost enough to make me leave! But I braved it and in I went. I must say that the warm lights and the way it made me feel were wonderful. I'm still not big on the naked thing, but I'm getting better each time. It has made my skin VERY itchy...anybody have any insight on this? We did switch tanning lotions and that has seemed to help. With any luck, I will have a healthy glow by the time we leave in.......

6 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's 55 degrees outside. It's even, dare I say it, a bit muggy! I can feel storms in the air, so can Bo bo, he's pacing as we speak. And you'd think that I would be thrilled about the warmer air and the possibility of thunderstorms...but I'm not.

We leave a week from tomorrow. It still feels like an eternity away, but I am despairing because my family is sick!!! Well not all of them. Emma was home two days, Thomas is hacking and Matt is sicker than a dog. He even broke down and went to the Dr. yesterday which is HUGE! Alas, it just viral but it seems to be a long one! I am drinking green tea at the speed of light, speaking of which hang on while I grab another mug.....ok thanks. I have every window open and am bleaching everything I can find. I am determined to NOT GET SICK. I refuse to allow any virus to keep me from enjoying this glorious vacation. So there.

As I must return to my virus eradication, I'll leave you with some pics of the girls all ready for Crazy Hair Day at school!

Five...

My baby girl is 5. I don't know how exactly this happened, since I haven't aged at all :) She was my quick mover, running by 9 months and climbing like a spider by 10 months. So literally it feels like she has been a toddler FOREVER. But, as of 11:30 tonight, she will be a non toddler.

She is our funny, beautiful, silly Boo and I just adore her. And this birthday was note worthy because it is our first NON DORA birthday in 5 years!!! We graduated to High School Musical this year! So a happy birthday to my boo, I love you more than words can say!

With the cruise a mere 11 days away, it's a good bet that I will not be speaking of anything else. Well, with the exception of Sydney's birthday which is Wednesday. 11 days away feels like an eternity, but I know that it will be here before I know it. Preparations are in full swing. We dialog with the kids every day about what is expected of them when we are gone and what it will be like. Sydney is so excited to have Aunt Berber (her real name is Amber, but the kids nicknamed her Berber because Aunt Amber was quite a mouthful) here that she keeps asking me, "Mom how much longer till you leave??" I can feel the love.

So this whole process has brought up some interesting things. Matt and I have never been away from the kids for more than a few nights and we have never flown or left the country since they've been born. As we were sitting around my mom's dining room table on Saturday night, she casually asked about our will. I blinked and said, "A will? What will?" It never occurred to me that something could happen on this glorious vacation that I have been waiting ten years to take trip that would make a will necessary. That really caused some major discussion between Matt and I. Who would we want to inherit our children? A quick call to a lawyer friend made us aware that if no written instructions are left, the state removes the children. I burst into tears at the thought of my children trying to process losing both parents and then being split up and put with strangers. Now, I know that God is in control and that, if He decides it's time for Matt and I to come home, than He will take care of my children. I also know that my huge family would sweep in and love and care for our children. But we really had to pray and decide who to ask to be guardians. My parents aren't getting younger and they do have a 12 year old child with CP to contend with already so it seemed unfair to ask them to take guardianship of our kids. After much discussion and prayer, we asked my brother and his wife (the ones staying with the kids) if they would consider taking on that responsibility. They accepted. I have peace now that, in the event of a tragedy, our children will be safe.

Ok, back to the lighthearted side of things....

I LEAVE IN 11 DAYS!!!