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P.S. If you are reading the previous post in google reader, please ignore spelling...I posted before I did spell check and google does not update....

Okay....read on....

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jog

Well, we are finally home. Bags have been unpacked, the car has been cleaned out, the mail has been gone through....we are so glad to be home, but had such a wonderful time on vacation!!

To recap, I'm going to make a list of my Top 20 things to take/do on vacation...I guarantee doing/bringing these things will lead to a fun filled vacation full of memories!!

1. The first thing you absolutely must bring on vacation is a stomach bug!!
Oh the joy, when 15 minutes into our drive Ethan threw up. Luckily, I could tell he wasn't feeling well before we got in the car and suggested he bring a bowl and thankfully he has good aim. We did manage to quickly pull over in the parking lot of a chiropractors office, clean him up, rinse out the bowl and get it back to him before he vomited again. Oh the joys of being a parent. At that point I thought for sure we were going to have to just turn around and go home, but when we mentioned it he cried. So being the good parents we are (I actually felt rather guilty) we decided to continue on the road but not before stopping at the grocery store...which leads me to...

2. If you even think you might have a puker on your hands, invest in these for your vacation:

[photo from Glad.com]

I personally do not trust my children's aim to always be as good as Ethan's. I purchased the HUGE 8 cup size. What I liked most about these was the handy dandy lid...had he puked again, we could have just thrown a lid on that sucker and been on our way, not to mention, they came in a three pack which meant all my sympathy pukers got a bowl as well!

3. Number 3 on my list of fabulous things to bring on a vacation is a baby with EXPLOSIVE DIARRHEA...we were about here:

[photo from Monticello.com]

When we smelled something, we hoped was the fresh smell of a nearby farm...but no...it was the fresh smell of Joel's derri air (how do you spell that?). This was our car as we pulled into a cute little church parking lot:

I thought for sure we were goners....

So we get Joel out, get him all changed, the boys run off some steam and then potty behind the van, and then my dear husband has a great idea...."Heather, pee in one of those big bowls you just bought...then we won't have to stop again for hours!"...can I just tell you...I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually entertained the thought...I crawled in the back and was so close to giving it a try when two cute little old ladies came out of the church and were staring us down...I just couldn't do it after that.....I really think having all boys is starting to get to me!

4. Well we finally made it to Louisville after 11.5 grueling hours, we were exhausted. It took all day Saturday for us to recuperate, not to mention that now Ethan had a 101 degree fever! On Sunday everyone seemed to be feeling better and we ventured out to do #4 on my list:
If you live in the Louisville area I highly recommend Incredible Dave's. We had a blast. My Dad even convinced Sam and I to try this with him:

[picture from newheights.biz]

It was exhilarating! I finally even worked up enough gusto to try a back flip complete with perfectly pointed toes....my children were very impressed! Later on in our vacation Greg and I went on a date and ventured back over to Incredible Dave's. Greg was my hero, winning over 2000 tickets on "Pop a Shot"! I also discovered that I am pretty good at this game:

I guess 12 years of viola is finally paying off!


5. Number 5 on my list of memorable things to do on vacation is the Kentucky State Fair. The Fair wasn't as fun as any of us previously remembered....but we did enjoy some good old fashioned fair food, complete with Country Ham sandwiches, Cotton candy, corn dogs, tater chips, shake up lemonade (which totally disgusted me as I could literally feel the sugar going down my throat, but the boys LOVED it!) etc. We did enjoy the exhibits, the boys enjoyed "Safety Town" put on by the State Police. I remember the commercials for "Safety Town" from when I was a little girl!

After all the exhibits and food we decided to head to the fairway...GiGi bought enough tickets for the boys to ride several rides. Ethan was still not feeling totally "right" but thought he could handle one of these rides:

[photo from Ontariocountyfair.org]

The first time around he did pretty good and decided he wanted to ride again...the second time around he didn't look so good. I quickly got him off the ride and looked for something, anything the child could puke in...lucky for us there was a large potted plant right beside the ride operator...not so lucky for him....Ethan lost all of his fair food AND it was 90 degrees out. I did my best to water everything down, but I eventually just had to walk away....YIKES!!

Well...it's taken me over an hour to compile this list...you'll just have to wait until tomorrow for the rest!!! Stay tuned!!

Something to leave you with....

Well, I won't be posting for a couple of days but I wanted to post this video I found on YouTube.  The song in the background is my favorite right now, and the story in the video is about the girl who wrote and is singing the song.  Very inspirational....

I feel like a Miracle Grow Commercial

It's 10 AM.  I have the beds stripped, the washer running and the dishwasher unloaded, reloaded and running, and scrubbing bubbles is soaking into my shower tiles, so I thought I would take a moment to blog, not to mention let the hot water heater catch up before I attempt to take a shower!

When my Mom was here over the Memorial Day Weekend she helped me tremendously with my landscaping and curb appeal.  We dug up, threw away, replanted, transplanted, re-sodded, etc...it was quite a job (and really, she did most of it).

One of my favorite things are the urns she purchased and then filled with plants.  They have been so pretty and I love to look at them when I come up the sidewalk.  The urns hold, white impatiens, trailing vinca, and caladiums.  We picked them out for all their green and white and because my front yard gets almost no sun, so we definitely needed shade lovers.  Mom lovingly planted them for me while she was here and then added a good dose of miracle grow, with instructions for me to follow up after a week....well of course I forgot....but luckily my urns look beautiful.  The funny thing is is that the pants have grown very differently in their respective pots....in one the impatiens are HUGE and the caladiums are average, in the other the caladiums are HUGE and the impatiens are average.  It's so strange.  I had a light bulb moment one afternoon and thought, I bet I just need to switch their positions on the porch, which I did...it has made no difference.  My theory is that 1.  the damage is done, no amount of switching them is going to make them look the same...or 2.  it had nothing to do with the sunlight and their is some other factor at work.  Either way, I still love the way the look....check them out for yourself:

Large caladiums....you can hardly see the impatiens.

Average sized caladiums and HUGE impatiens.

I should have taken the pictures the same direction so it would be more obvious...oh well....but you can definitely see a difference.

Off to go scrub some shower tiles!  Happy Hump Day!

Joel's Birthday

Well I finally think I figured out this slideshow stuff.  Greg and Nancy took close to 240 pictures of the birthday boy, don't worry I weeded a TON out.  

Yesterday we celebrated Joel's birthday in Hawaiian style.  We had a nice time, but poor Joel had his well baby earlier in the afternoon, which meant shots and a very tired cranky baby.  Probably bad timing on my part.

At his appointment he was 20lbs 10 oz which puts him in the 25th percentile.  He was 28.5 inches long also putting him in the 25th percentile.  I'm not sure of the numbers on his huge head but it was in the 90th percentile.  My kids always seem to be petite with huge heads.  

Hope you enjoy the slideshow from his big day!  Don't quote me on this, but I think you can click on it to make it bigger....okay....off to lay down, I have a terrible headache....

Check Back Soon....

Joel's B-day pics are coming....I promise!!  I'm having trouble with Google, but I'm working it!

He won't need therapy....yet.....

I haven't forgotten to post about Joel's birthday....it's just that....well....we never actually told him that it was his birthday....well that's a half truth....we wished him a happy birthday on the actual day, but then we didn't have a party....I feel guilty....don't make me feel worse.....

I have big plans to celebrate his "golden birthday" (he was one on the 1st of August, hence the golden day), we just haven't gotten around to celebrating. It's not that we don't want to....it's that our dear friends the Kules always seem to be busy, and since Jillian is pretty much Joel's only age appropriate friend...we are waiting for her ;0)

In the mean time, here's a funny picture of Gabe as well as a funny story:

Me: Gabe, will you always be my baby?

Gabe: No Mommy, I'm a big boy now....

Me: When you grow up are you going to get married?

Gabe: When I grow up I'm going to marry you Mommy, because I LOVE you soooo much!!

Me: Oh, Gabe, I can't wait for us to get married....

Pause....as we both think about marriage, him growing up, etc (or at least that's what I was thinking about!)

Gabe: Mommy....I can't wait to be a grown up....

Me: Why is that Gabe?

Gabe: 'Cause then I'll get to spank people....

(I'm cracking up at this point)

Me: Who do you want to spank Gabe?

Gabe: (With the biggest onoriest grin I have ever seen)....I wanna spank ETHAN!!!

Ahhhh brotherly love.....gotta love it!!

Gabe chipmunk cheeked!! Those cheeks are full of grapes....dangerous....I know....but I had to get a picture before I told him to NEVER do it again!