Tropical Storm Fay

It was so humid out the camera lens kept fogging up. Here's the dock (which last week was overlooking a DRY lake).
Here's the boat ramp (where? you say? exactly. under water) and the parking lot.
Jack found this worm which looks to me a little too much like a snake. it was dead, so no bother.
this is the street that looks towards our street. the water actually was coming out the drainway.
and this is the smaller lake that the bigger lake is supposed to drain into. again, it was completely dry last week, and now you can barely even see the tunnel.

Olympics/First Day of School

These boys were intensely reading all the statistics in this book while the olympics were on tv.
Mike (kindergarten) and Jack (4th grade) on their way to De Soto Trail Elementary.
Haley (10th), Nick (9th), and Karis (12th) on their way to Lawton Chiles High School.
last but not least, Olivia (7th) on her way to Montford Middle School
and Pete, just not sure where his place is, or what he's supposed to do.

Up Close and "Purr-sonal"

Jack's first homework assignment, due the first day of school (tomorrow) goes like this:

What kind of book (sic) do you most like to read? history
Where might someone have see you this summer? Sunday school
Name the famous person you most admire: Walt Disney (he just read a biography)
Name two of your strengths: math and history
In which school subject are you likely to do well? math
What are two things you'll never do during your spare time? take naps and watch tv (ha ha)
What food do you most like to eat? steak
What goal do you have for this year? to get an A Plus
What do you do during your spare time? read
Where in the world would you most like to visit? Italy
Name a topic you'd like to study this year: science
Would you rather work alone, with a partner or in a group? a group (no surprise there)
What job would you like to do when you're older? football

and last but not least, with which friend do you spend the most time? my sister, Olivia.

Jack, you'll be missed.

Thanks Mom and Jerry

Here's what the flowers you sent me look like. The ones just stuck in are gone now, but the plant is doing well as a centerpiece on the kitchen table. It brings a smile to my face every time I walk by.

Liv gets glasses

what do you think?

another Mike funny

that I've already told you all about but am posting because I'm afraid I'll forget.


Mike learned to read pretty easily--right after his 5th birthday. He continues to surprise us with his interpretation of the English language.

He came out of the shower one day asking in a desperate voice, "WHY. do we wash our HAIR. in POO?" when we inquired what he was talking about, he showed us the shampoo bottle and said, "see? sham- POO. what *is* a sham and why do we wash our hair in its poo?"

smile :) he'll keep his kindergarten teacher on his/her toes!

The number 9

A few months ago, when Chick-fil-A was giving away free (.....I can't remember what. a sandwhich? milkshake? something worth wearing 9) to everyone who wore the number 9 (their anniversary) I took these pictures of the 9s we found on clothing.
Can you guess which shirt belongs to which kid?













and I got to thinking about the number 9. there are 9 people in our family. my grandfather had 9 toes. I lived 9 different places (as in homes/apartments/dorms) before getting married. I have been pregnant 9 times. I do at least 9 loads of laundry a week. I am blessed to live with my favorite 9 year old on the planet!

I think 9 is a fun number. How 'bout you?

Proof that it's not just me.....

Our city is the 3rd sweatiest in the whole United States. It really *is* that hot, folks. Read more here: http://www.nbc5.com/health/16707073/detail.html (apparently you'll have to cut and paste. I can't figure out how I made it a link before).

What I can't do anymore

is take pictures like these. you save for over a year and still end up using part of your "economic stimulus check" to purchase your dream "I'll-never-have-to-buy-another-one" camera and what do you end up with?









needing to send it back to the manufacturer for a glitch in the battery/auto focus feature. thanks, Nikon. you broke my heart.

The Disney Principle

We talked in the car while at Disney about what we've come to call the Disney principle. How over-the-top well Disney does all things. How they never miss a detail, expend more than the amount of energy (and time, and expense, and workers) to keep things way beyond average. We talked about how our lives as followers of Christ should reflect the same.









We talked about how we should live such an exemplary example of self-lessness and "loving our neighbor" that people stop and notice that we're different. and wonder out loud why. and at the end of the day, if I fall asleep on the short walk to the car because I'm so exhausted from experiencing that kind of life.....then it seems that's the way life should be lived. Praise God for insight from not-necessarily-godly things, and forHis immeasurable depth of second chances.

Two of P's favorite things were the Country Bears and the fireworks (which he thinks sleep in the castle during the day and only come out at night).

more MK

It's a small world..... still a classic after all these years.


Funny story about this girl. N. was convinced she wasn't real, so he blew her a kiss. You should've seen him blush and wish he could disappear when she blew a kiss back :)






Tea cups--this is the crazy cup








This is the more subdued cup (P. held on like that the whole time, even when Robin got us going really fast).


Yea Buzz Lightyear! The lines for all the other characters were so long (or like Belle they closed her line just as we got to it), but Buzz was fresh and cheerful--look at that smile on his face! boy, was he glad to see us.

Magic Kingdom

Cinderella's Castle

Space Mountain

Rainforest!

ever since robin and i ate here 11 years ago when we were staying up the street for his convention, i've wanted to bring the kids here. every 20-30 minutes there is a thunder/lightning storm, lots of animated animals, rain (real!) falling gently from the ceiling. it's just a once in a lifetime experience. and i thought i was going to surprise the kids. until they told me they already knew all about it, they had seen it on "unwrapped." oh well. they didn't know it was in FL (there are other locations). and I think they enjoyed it. P. wasn't so sure. we heard thunder last night with our short rainstorm, and kept calling it "lightning".
p. was quite enthralled by the tropical bird show out front.

o. in front of one of the many exotic fish tanks. it really is an awe-some place to see.

the bird show. it was so hot, we were wishing she'd miss the birds and squirt US.

they put us at a back table. we were so glad. we got quite a bit of attention, and even a surprise at the end of our meal--the couple who ate quietly at a secluded table for 2 next to us (poor people) had grown up children, and because they only got an appetizer (all food portions are extra large!) they couldn't use their some-kind-of-membership discount, so they gave it to us. 10% off 4 of our entrees, equaling about $9. every little bit helps, and we were appreciative.

Priceless

obviously, N. was not thinking of the future blackmail his sisters will have access to as a result of this pic
this look (seen often throughout the 36 hours of Disney-dom) made it all worth it.

these 2 think they struck gold with the awesome assortment of potato appendages we fit into those 2 tiny boxes (and a small box of snowman accessories just in case we never actually get to build a real one again). this is what everyone has played with pretty much non-stop since we got home 2 days ago. priceless.

Lots of spots for photo ops (and signs that actually say, "Kodak moment" which made me think you plagiarize, Mom, whenever you say that....). Our trick was making sure that everyone was actually looking at the camera when the little boys were. P. was trying real hard to put his hands on his hips to be tough and show us he could jump down from that bench all by his-bigself.

I took a picture of this mammoth wall hanging in the Team Mickey store thinking I could have it printed as a poster when I got home for the little boys. But then, on the actual drive home (while I was trying to keep myself awake on the doldrum they call I-10) I was thinking that maybe that's infringing on Disney rights. anyone know?