Still my sweet baby

So for real how did this happen? He's my baby, my bubba, my lil shadow. He's my buddy. How did he turn 5? Seems like yesterday he was this tiny bundle of hair and nose.... cue the sappy overture...
Its not like most birth stories. I wasn't in the hospital. I wasn't doped up or screaming. As a matter of fact I wasn't even in the same country.
I remember getting the call from Erika, and I about passed out right on the spot. He came several weeks sooner then we had expected. Oh and I was convinced he was gonna be a girl. (btw I'm so glad he's all boy.)
And we flew into a baby frenzy. It was a fast introduction to the world of baby boy preemie clothes followed by chunking clothes and heavy jackets into a bag. I remember flying to Dallas and not being able to sleep at April's. I believe there was a middle of the night trip to Walmart in there somewhere. And booking flights for Wayne because he couldn't leave the country on a day's notice. I've heard that's a prob if you have a real job ;) Oh and this is the part where I apologize one more time for the eight hour layover in the middle of the night at La Guardia airport.
I remember the long flights. I remember the crazy turbulance. And then getting off the plane... in Canada. Oh and I saw my first mountee. Btw they were super awesome.
Erika, Seth's Grandma, picked me up from the airport. It was such a surreal thing to meet her. Then I met Vicki. Okay now that was beyond surreal. To meet the woman who's giving you her child, how do you say thank you for that? I can't explain that sort of emotion. Just overwhelming excitement, gratitude, and uncertainity.
And then I went to see Seth. I remember having to wash my hands incessantly. I remember the walk from the sink to the bed seemed to be forever. We got there, and he turned his head and opened his eyes. And Erika said, "That's the first time he's done that. It's like he knows."
Now I have to tell you that as many times as I've told this story, I tear up every time, without fail at that part. That's the exact moment where he became my bubba. It's the moment where I absolutely fell in love with him. When I went from a mother of one to a mother of two and all it took was a look.

Yes he had that much hair. Yes you can giggle.

I had to ask the nurses how to change a boy's diaper. (Yes I had to be taught how to change a diaper in the hospital when I had Grace, but boys are waaaay different.) He had the tiniest little knit hat. And oh did that lil boy have some hair!
And then there was coming home. I remember taking him out of the hospital. It was November, in Canada, and it was a wee bit chilly with all the snow on the ground and what not. Erika dropped us off at the airport, and it was just me and this tiny bundle. Oh and I was not wearing maternity clothes. Random adoption perk I wanted to throw in there.
He was in this blue sling that I wore and late in the evening we headed to Montreal. Wayne had made it there and had forgiven me for the layover incident. The plan was to get Seth a travel visa and then fly back to the states. Oh my sweet Seth, there was always a plan. Its just that my plans never worked out. In the course of the next couple of days, we were told we had to make an appointment at least one business day ahead of time for the visa. I believe we found that out on Friday. The airline immigration officials refused to let him fly without one. So our lawyer called and begged with immigration at the border to let us cross. And he found us a new mom with a heart of gold who decided to help us. We rented a car, and okay I'm so grateful for gps. Otherwise we'd still be driving around Montreal. And we drove across the border with Seth on a vacation visa.
Then was some flying from New York to Chicago. At one of the security check points, Wayne got stopped. Apparently he was suspicious because he was carrying tiny bottles full of white liquid. They were labeled baby formula, but the baby and I were in a different line at the time. Also sorry about that, Wayne. On the flight to Chicago, we were kicked off our flight because the airline decided he was too young to fly. After some heartfelt crying and pleading we not only got to get back on the plane, we were applauded by the other passengers.
It was the most whirlwind, exciting, scary, nausea inducing, and joyful trip I've ever had. Some parts of it are just a bit fuzzy,  but I remember my sweet bubba. I remember Erika and Vicki. I remember seeing Wayne hold this tiny lil bundle of hair in a Canadian hotel room. I remember getting to show him to Gracie. I looked at her and suddenly realized she seemed so big next to this sweet boy. And I remember God taking our family of three and turning it into a family of four.
And I'm still not sure how he turned 5.

My whole fam. Oh I heart them so!

My princess

So as promised a birthday blog for Gracie. After a long absence from blogging, my daughter turning 7 motivated me to get back to it. Well that and Carrie reminding me which site I blog from. Thanks :)
My memory of that day is a little hazy courtesy of the awesome meds, but here's goes...
I remember heading in before the sun came up. That was back when getting up before the sun seemed like a big deal. Headed into the hospital and got me a nice iv of petossin. That was followed directly by an epidural. When I asked the nurse for the epidural, she asked if I was in pain already. I told her no, and that was why I thought that was the best time for an epidural.
So at some point I was in a little pain, at which point my mother passed out, busted her lip and made her own trip to the ER. It was super fun to tell my Dad when he got to the hospital to stop by the ER to see my Mom before he came up to labor and delivery. (Yes, you may laugh at this. At the time it was not funny, but now...just don't laugh where she can hear you.)
I ended up with a C-section. Later that evening my epidural came out (Dude, that was intense.) Anyway, that's not the stuff I remember on her birthday. Cue the sappy music...

I remember everything being like your typical after delivery. Then I remember her being taken to the NICU because she had a blocked bowel from the cf. I remember the fear of not knowing what was going on. I remember the long hallway from my room to hers. Going thru the ominous doors of the NICU. Holding this tiny baby in my arms while trying not to get tangled in the iv cords and monitors hooked to her. I remember the hearing a chorus of beeps and monitors in the midst of learning to change a diaper. (No I did not know how to change a diaper before then.) She had the biggest brown eyes and a head of brown hair. I remember thinking how in the world did she come out with straight hair. She had a yellow sleeper with pink flowers that was a size too big. She would curl up her little legs and put both of them in the same leg of the sleeper. Just staring at her, drinking in this little miracle until visiting hours were over.

I remember taking her home and learning about all the treatments and medications that now seem so normal to us. Being so afraid I would break this sweet, sweet angel. And I remember being so grateful for every day and every long sleepless night.
I remember the way she would sleep with one fist straight up in the air and thinking that was exactly how she was sleeping in the womb. Hence, my not being able to breathe the last month. I remember her perfect tiny toes. I remember the way Wayne's arms could swallow her up. The way she'd wrap her tiny fingers around mine. I remember being sure that no baby had ever been as beautiful and sweet as my lil Gracie.

And each year on October 13, I find myself being overwhelmed by the blessing of another year with the strongest and bravest little girl I've ever known.

Ode to a world of green spandex

So last night I went to a for real grown up movie without animation... wait, last night I went to what was advertised as a for real grown up movie without animation. I'll get to the actual movie, but first a lil side story.
We got a lil messed up on the movie time and ended up there before anyone else. I mean anyone. So Wayne made a pit stop at the rest room, and I headed in to a stupid dark, totally empty theater. As I'm standing there scanning the rows, I had this flashback to one of the Scream movies where some girl gets killed in a theater. So I'm gonna say the pre-movie experience was pretty thrilling and heart pounding.
And then the movie actually started. Now to be fair I'm not a huge comic book hero fan when it comes to my movies. I do love me some XMen and some Superman, but that's 'bout it. I usually prefer stupid funny movies. A large part of my relationship with Wayne was built on the fantabulous comedic skills of Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller. But it was Father's Day so I braved the world of comic books...
First of all lemme say that someone must have caught a clearance sale on indiglow green spandex. One guy in that stuff, kinda fun. An entire planet of funky hybrid aliens, really funny. For real, we're sitting in this dark theater, and I'm trying not to bust a gut with my mouth buried in my elbow cuz ya know I don't wanna ruin the movie for Wayne. I look over and he's giggling like a lil girl too. This is when I decided that I might just enjoy this movie after all.
Pretty much when the giant fish started having a deep and meaningful conversations with a giant rock monster... while wearing the neon green spandex, this movie went from action to comedy. The alien planet was like Whoville...dressed up in neon green spandex and very serious. I know somewhere in that crowd was the Grinch all muscled up with his ring and spandex. I'm sorry. Apparently I just can't get past the spandex. Makes me giggle just thinking about it.
The back story was pretty hardcore. It was a lot to take in for a first time Green Lantern-er. That would explain why there wasn't enough time left in the movie for a plot. I understood. The new-bie from Earth beats the universe threatening Eee-Vil in like 10 min flat. And the ancient defenders of the entire universe (in spandex) show up to pull him away from the sun after he's done all the actual hero work. Lil bit of a let down. Although it did mean seeing the giant fish and rock monster (in spandex) one more glorious time.
Overall, it was not a 'quality' movie, but I was def entertained. It may however, have ruined the color green for me.
Oh and after the movie I had to hit the rest rooms. For real not another soul in the restroom. Flashback again to a Scream movie where the guy gets killed in the bathroom. So another tense moment while doing my business. Because movies can just stick with you even if its been well over a decade since you saw them.
I believe Green Lantern will stick with me the same way... only about Spandex.

Girls day out

For real I was all kinds of excited this morning to get out the door...and not just because I was getting super hungry. It's been forev since Gracie and I spent time just the two of us.
Most of the time when Gracie's around so is Seth. Which is super because the two of them are bff...at least for a few more years. But I do so love some girly time, and I do adore my princess.
I gave her the monumental task of coming up with an entire day worth of fun. It was a loooong list.

Started with pancakes and hash browns, oh and super glittery pink shoes.
Followed by a quick trip back by the house because we forgot her glasses.And then I realized no where on her list of places to visit was open... oops. Luckily, Toys R Us is always a place kids want to go. She got to spend her tooth fairy money. Now normally there's a time limit for shopping trips, but not on girls' day. She went thru every aisle, minus the ones with Transformers and Star Wars. (I heart girls' day for that reason alone.) At one point she looked at me and said, "Mom there's just too many choices. How will I ever decide?" We ended up with a lil bunny that eats, drinks and 'tinkles.' It just makes the 'tinkle' sound, but still not a fan of being tinkled on by a bunny.

I think she was missing Seth.

So a mere hour and a half later we took our incontinent woodland friend and headed out. Next on her list was a pedicure. I would like to say that I tried to talk into buying nice nail polish (aka not from walmart or the dollar store) and doing them at home because I'm frugal. That would be a dirty lie. I was super embarrased by my cracked heels. For real couldn't tell u the last time I actually had a pedicure. I blame it on the dry panhandle and hard wood floors.
Anyway, turns out my love for my daughter is greater than my fear of having someone talk about how nasty my feet in another language. So I sacrificed. She was so adorable. She picked out our nail polish and decided we needed matching butterflies. She asked several times if we would get to put our feet in warm water, and then she was like a statue while they actually painted them. The poor lady tried to do her butterfly three times. Finally someone else came over and painted the tiniest lil butterfly on her tiny big toe. She was grinning from ear to ear. I carried her from the chair to the drying area.

The only thing sweeter than the cupcakes.

We finished up, and I realized I was getting hungry so as a good Mom I figured I should feed her too. Now I hadn't expected to hit the cupcake place for lunch. I was thinking dessert, possibly mid afternoon snack. Sometimes I forget who's daughter she is. Why wouldn't we have dessert for an actual meal?! I've been doing it for years.
We walked in and she sprinted to the glass case. Wanted to know what each one was, and then made her decision based on which one had the most sprinkles. I had to ask the lady how much fat was in her cupcake to figure out how many pills she needed. She didn't know how much fat but said it had about 250 calories... 'the lowest calorie count of any of their cupcakes' she said very cheerfully. Lemme say that I had not ordered myself the same cupcake. Mine was called chocolate obsession. So yeah maybe it's a good thing I counted the cupcake as lunch. Anyway, I think there was more icing than cupcake. Oh and I could have eaten a whole bowl of that icing. I'm actually not a huge icing fan, but duuude this was to die for. I think the cake part was okay, but I was too cracked out on the icing to know for sure.

All I told her was to make a silly face... yeah, that's my daughter.

So each of us with a serious sugar buzz, we headed to Brush With Art. Okay, I heart that place. And Gracie is def my artistic child so yeah it was on like Donkey Kong. She painted a tiny turtle, a tiny bunny, a couple of tiles. Actually the tiles were to make me happy. I thought she was painting some Mother's Day presents, but she wanted to keep all of the lil animals. So we painted some tiles for the grandmas.
Oh and being so smart she found a bird jewelry box. Earlier in the day at Toys R Us she had been torn between the tinkling bunny and a Rapunzel jewelry box. She legitimatley needs a jewelry box because she has quite the collection of fab jewels and mardi gras looking necklaces. Anyway, she now has her bunny and a jewelry box she painted.
I asked her where to now and dun, dun, dun she said to get her ears pierced. Now I've never tried to convince her to get them done. I'd be cool if she spent her life in clip ons. But she was determined. She kept asking if it would hurt. I told her it would kinda be like a shot but not nearly as bad as an iv. (A lil sad that she gets those terms.) She marched up, picked out the rainbow diamond flower pair, and once again sat perfectly still. It took less than 5 min from the time we walked in til her lil eyes welled up with tears. Then the lady put numbing stuff on them, and Grace smiled and said, "Can I see them?"
I asked her later if it was a big hurt or a lil one. She said just a lil one. She's pretty tough.
At this point I realized our sugar buzzes had worn off. So we hit the cookie place in the mall. She had two big ol m&m cookies, and I had a gianormous DDP.
We wandered back, and I decided to let her look around Justice. I know what you're thinking. Break out the plastic. But no, while I was getting sucked in by the sheer adorableness of the clothes she was asking when we could leave. Suddenly I was very grateful she's not a tween just yet.

Finishing off the day the right way.

And thank goodness it was time for a movie. I was more than a lil tired. Saw Gnomeo and Juliet. Mostly I wanted to see it because I have this weird thing for garden gnomes. Stems from my childhood. Movie was okay. Not nearly as entertaining as her seranading me before it started. And only for my princess would I have sat in the very first row. Oh and then she sat in my lap the whole time. Still my lil girl even with those big girl earrings.

Why the Royal wedding ircked me...

So the last week or so all the coverage of the royal festivities has really started to get on my nerves. Honestly, I couldn't figure out why. I heart weddings. I really heart weddings. I mean it's like going to a real life Julia Roberts movie that's catered. What could possibly be more amazing?!
Today it totally hit me. The things I love most about weddings have nothing to do with things. It seemed the wedding details were getting all the hype.
 The things that make a wedding truly amazing have nothing to do with the colors, the location, or even (this hurts to say) the fantabulous dress.
What makes a wedding a wedding is the loooove.

One of my fav wedding moments is a stressed out groom. He was pacing and, well, just a touch cranky beforehand. I'm telling you when his bride stepped into the church, his whole demeanor changed. His eyes lit up, and he had the sweetest smile every time he touched her. During pictures you expect the bride to be gitty, but the groom was on cloud nine. Truly a fairytale moment.
I remember catching a father of the bride sitting alone with tears in his eyes. Watching a bride slip into her dress and her mother's face. The bride's face as she peeks into the sanctuary waiting for her song to start. A groom at the reception who was watching his bride from across the room as she greeted people with tears in his eyes. The hugs between father and son. Watching the groomsmen try to figure out which side to pin their flower on and how to do it without drawing blood. And oh the stories of groomsmen with sunglasses, carrying the groom, sneaking out to 'decorate' the getaway car. The tiny flowergirls with ringlets who pile up rose petals in one big mound as they giggle. The ringbearers who think the ring pillow is actually a weapon. The moments after the ceremony when it's just the bridal party. When a husband holds his wife for the first time in a quiet hallway.
Weddings are this unEarthly moment when God joins two people together. It's a moment that makes me tear up over and over again. To look at my husband and so truly grateful for him.
This is why I love weddings.
And btw, I did catch a pic of Kate. And yeah the dress was fierce.
And now some of my fav moments

Yes, my 4 yr old did ride the Tower of Terror

Pizza at...wait for iiiit....Pizza Planet!

It was our last day. We were all pretty run down, happy but run down. And as we turned a corner, Seth spotted it. The menacing run down building known as The Tow-errr of Terrrr-or (echoing freaky voice.) By this point Seth had learned exactly what the lil measuring tape thing was next to the rides. He sprinted to it, and when he realized he was tall enough, squealed like a pig being mowed down by an angry bird.
Let me say, he had watched videos of it on the dvd we'd gotten from Disney to plan our vacation. At one point before the trip he had said how scary it was, and he did not want to ride anything like that. I was pretty shocked when he started pleading to ride it. Wayne and I exchanged some seriously concerned words about the whole thing.
This was the conclusion we reached.
1. If we said no, he was going to have a meltdown and cry like a baby in the middle of Disney.
2. If we said yes, he was going to have a meltdown and cry like a baby while on the ride.
So by letting him go, we got to let him make his own decision that wouldn't permanently scar him (I hope,) and Wayne got to ride the tower of terror. So after trying to no avail to convince him it would be too scary for him, off the two of them went.
And being proper weenies and girls, Grace and I went off to shop.
Now this next part of the story is pure hear-say. Wayne said he did get a few worried glances from other people as they waited. Actually I think he used the term dirtbag. Seth was pumped. Seth was pumped in line. Seth was pumped when he buckled in. Seth was pumped...and then Seth was dropped.
For those of you not familiar with the ride, let me explain. It takes you up stupid high. And it doesn't just drop you, it pulls you down. So you're going faster than the speed of gravity. Why that sounds super fun I have no idea.
I know this is the part where u think he freaks out. Think again. He laughed when it dropped them. He loved it. The the tower yanked them back up...
This is the part where he freaks out. He cried that he wanted off and cried for me over the next several drops and pulls.
Let me back up for a minute. He had ridden a small roller coaster the day before with my Mom and Wayne. He absolutely loved it. He had also ridden the Spiderman ride. That one was 'sk-eeerr-eee.'
I know this because after he got off he gave me a long play by play of the whole ride complete with Seth-tastic hand motions and epic dramatic pauses. He is an amazing story teller...if u can understand what he's saying.
When I saw him after the tower, this was the conversation.
Me- Seth, was it fun?
Seth- It was scary. I cried for you.
Not really sure where to go in the story now. So lemme make a totally awkward jump....

Aaaand we got to meet Buzz and Woody. Oh I heart them. Seth about knocked Woody over. Oh and the actual Toy Story ride was pure awesomeness. When u walk in right before u get on the ride, it's like being in Andy's room only you're the size of a toy. We rode it at least twice, wait maybe three times. See why I'm trying to write it all down now.

I totally made them pose for this.

And my biggest geek out moment had to be at Disney Hollywood. The Muppets, oh how I adore the Muppets. And the 3D show was so good even the non-muppet enthusiasts, aka Wayne, enjoyed it. I had to stop and take pics in the hallway. Oh and afterward there was a whole store devoted to Muppet awesomeness. My mickey ears that I bought are Kermit Mickey Ears. Dude, they're ah-mazing.

I think it was right after that show that we spotted McQueen and Mater. To be fair, I think Seth spotted them. He ran over to McQueen who was purring like a, um, insert fancy car reference here. Sorry Wayne's at work so I have no one to get car metaphors from.

The arm across the hood, hand on the hip, blue steely gaze, all Seth's idead.

Grace tried to go stand next to him. Seth shoved her out of the pic. And then he posed himself. I would've stepped in quicker to make him behave, but I was doubled over laughing. He was hardcore serious about that pic. Wayne swooped in by Grace, and they took pics with Mater. Sweet Daddy :)

We also went to see Beauty and the Beast. We got to sit stupid close. So close I could see that Gaston's muscles were built into his costume. But it was like it's own lil Broadway style show. Grace is a fan of all things dancing and singing. She and I were sucked in pretty quick. And also, Wayne noted that when the Beast turned into the prince his hair looked like Fabio. Then Seth asked who's Fabio.

And the Honey, I shrunk the kids playground is still there. I remember playing on it when I was younger. Still adorable and the kids were gone. Grace got a lil wigged by te giant ant...til it purred at her. Then she was hooked. Had to drag her away from a giant ant.
All in all, I have to say this was one of our fav parks. Wasn't quite as crowded as Magic Kingdom and the size made it super easy to find things. And this was the park where I got to do the most shopping so win, win.

Fairies, hats and a Segway

So I figure I've only got a week or so left to get this down on paper  blog before my memory craps out on me.

So day, um, 4 I believe we were Epcot bound. Now Grace was not at all interested in the big ball thingy ma-gig or any of the amazing flower topiaries that were out for spring (Wayne learned a new word that day. Topiary not ma-gig.)

Because Epcot is the land of the Fairies. Oh Tinkerbell, we traveled hours and crossed many states to meet you. She could barely contain herself as we pushed her up to the lil fairy grove in the stroller (excited but still willing to rest in a stroller.) Tinkerbell was on a pixie dust break, but we did see two adorable lil fairies. Grace ran to them and giggled the whole time they talked to her. The pic of her with her lil hands on her hips is just one of my fav of the whole trip.
After her lil visit she said she knew Vidia, and then said, "Mom, I can't remember the other fairy's name." Now had I been thinking I would have at least taken a few more seconds. But no, I didn't miss a beat. "Rosetta," I replied. This is the point where I'm fairly sure I have seen Tinkerbell movies one too many times. Btw Vidia was my absolute fav of all the fairies.

So a few min later, Tinkerbell emerged in all her pixie dust glory. Grace again started the giggling. And I was very proud to say that I have no idea what the boy fairy's name is. Whew, still an adult ;)
I think we could've gone home right then and Gracie would've been content. The rest of the trip she talked about the fairies.
I was onto meet the rest of the animated gang. Oh, side note. That morning Mickey AND Minnie had come to Give Kids the World. We got to meet them there, and take what will be our family Christmas card pic (Those of u who know me know that I never actually get around to sending out a Christmas card, but maybe since Mickey and Minnie are in it... still prob forget.)
But the rest of the gang was all in one big place. It was beyond awesome. U got to go from Minnie to Goofy to Donald to Pluto...well u get the idea. Wayne was quick to jump into the pic with Gooffy...insert obvious joke here.
Oh and outside we later met Chip and Dale. Didn't even realize Seth knew who they were, but man he was all over them like Chip on a walnut. Still no clue which one is which.

Oh and I forgot the hat parade inside one of the stores. Seth is my moody picture taker. When it's my idea, he's hiding his face and sticking his tongue out. But when it's his idea, oh it's a par-tay! So Seth began to systematically try on every hat he could find. And Gracie noticed I was snapping away pics of him. She doesn't understand why anyone would ever take a pic of anyone but her. So she began modeling too. 

It was a much needed distraction because this was also the store where I got a glimpse of the Disney Dooney and Burke purse that I had been stalking online for weeks. I think I sensed it the moment we walked in the door. The soft leather called to me across the aisles. Even the zipper was amazing. All the lil teeth were different colors. I would just like credit for walking away from it. 

And Wayne feel in love too....with a segway. He and all the senior citizens stood in line just to try one out. I think it's a good idea. I mean he's so hard to spot in a crowd now, I feel the segway would really make him a head up, make that another head up on everyone else.

So this was the park where we rode only a few rides. We rode the ride with Figment the Dragon. Pretty sure it was the exact way from when I rode it as a kid. Wayne and I were both thinking lame-o, but the kids wanted to ride it again as soon as it ended. Turtle Talk with Crush from finding Nemo was super cute, and the Nemo ride was too adorable. But for 4 and 6 yr olds, Epcot is mostly about who u can meet :D 

And now the parade of hats! 

Hello Suess and Fivel

Honestly, I hadn't thought too much about Universal Studios before our trip.

Hands down fav part of her day!

I mean how could anything compete with Disney, and after playing with dolphins I thought Universal would probably be a bit of a let down...I was so wonderfully wrong :D
We got there, and as I was waiting in line for a stroller I spotted Scooby Doo. Didn't bother pointing him out to the kidlets. He was way too far away for me to hunt him down...too far for me.
Super Daddy to the rescue. He scooped up both kids. And off they went. Scooby turned the corner, but Super Daddy's stride is way longer than any dog, no matter how big. And he got Mr. Scoobert. Cute phone pics and everything. Can I just say I'm totally in love with man?!
Grace drug me back to see Scooby one more time later that day. He gave her beads that are now hanging on the door of her room. Oh and he danced with her. Pretty smooth for a Great Dane.

It was all good times from there. We hit Fivel's playground. Now the kids have no clue who Fivel is, but they def enjoyed his world. Grace rode the lil water slide at least five times. And here's what we learned about the slide.
1. Grace will wait til ur at the top to decide she doesn't want u to ride with u. At which point ur that weird adult riding down it all by yourself.

I'm thinking about having this made into an 8x10

2. How wet u get is directly related to how much weight is on the raft...Wayne was soaked.
And speaking of soaked, we found Curious George's lil town square. So it's this whole lil area where u can get soaked, not a bad idea at an amusement park in Florida. But I was just wet enough from the slide to be quite content to follow the lil path around the outside avoiding all the H2O. I got to the end, and my sweet son asked me to walk into the lil post office. It was at the edge, no one was manning the water cannons, what could be the harm?
Seth was showing me around and pulled me over to the mailboxes. And without missing a beat he opened the one mailbox that hid a hose down worth of water. I don't mean a spritz. I mean soak from about the neck down. And then the lil monkey busted out laughing.
Apparently he had been in the post office earlier with Granny. He knew exactly which one would spray buckets of water. And had waited til he got me in the right spot before opening the mailbox.
Honestly, I'm pretty proud of his lil prank. Smart kid,
teen years are gonna be rough.
Now I need to give another shot out to my super awesome hubby. He knew when he married me that I was a big weenie when it comes to rides. For real the tea cups at Disneyworld hold no appeal to me. He voluntarily missed most of the roller coasters. His attitude was if the kids couldn't ride then we'd find something to do as a family. Have I mentioned that I heart this man.
Anyway, Universal has some pretty amazing scary rides...I mean at least from my viewpoint on the ground. And Wayne and my Mom did decide to try the Twister ride. Btw it makes me super happy that Wayne and my Mom are all buddy-buddy. The kids and I waited at the exit where Seth and Grace put on a dance show for me. They can seriously bust a move...I think it's all that MJ gaming.
So the actual point of this story was so I'd have an excuse to post the pic of my Mom when she got off the ride...

If those shirts and hats hadn't been so dang expensive,

we'd all have matching outfits for Halloween...

or whenever.

Later that afternoon we found Dr. Suess-land. Now lemme say that Seth and I have a special Suess connection. It's all those Horton books. A story about an elephant who sits on an egg and when the egg hatches the lil flying elephant is Horton's. Hello adoption water works :D
Anyway, I think he and I would've moved in if possible. I mean it was like walking into the book. Plus all the thing 1 and thing 2 merchandise. Seth really makes a cute thing.
So at the end of the day we left Universal with a stuffed Scooby (who's nametag we later noticed is sewn upside down,) a sticky spiderman (he needs to be washed every 1/2 hour but he does stick to the ceiling,) thing 1 and 2 toe socks (I forgot toe socks don't work very well with my partially webbed toes,) and stupid big smiles on our faces.