Branson '09.

Whew! Posting all these took some time! All of these are unedited - except of the one of Bentley, which obviously, I converted to black & white. In no particular order...

Branson! ☺

She didn't go willingly, we kind of...pushed her down. ;o)

The above photos were all taken on manual. After that, I wanted to enjoy, & not spend time constantly changing my camera settings due to lighting circumstances. So, the rest are all snapshots. :)

Love this of Bentley.

Below - they were both about to vomit by the time I snapped this photo. ☺

The below of Bentley I just ♥ - the expression on his face is priceless! :)

Audi, of course, drove like he'd been doing it for years.

The female, on the other hand, spent most of her gokart time facing the track's metal guide. The guy who operated the gokarts that day - well - let's just say he earned his pay w/ Jags. ;o)

All four - Audi pulling up his britches & Mercedes, being Mercedes. Ü



Mercedes loved this wacky chair. She's cracking up, if you can't tell. :)

The Amazing Pets show - pretty cute.

Oh look! Uncle Craig, again! (The tiny one sitting in the guy's hand.) How is it we almost always see him on vacations? ;o)

Batman!

And the married couple.

Bentley is all about dinosaurs - anything & everything. Visiting the dinosaur museum was part of his birthday present. :)



We had an AWESOME time! Here's to next year! Destin? Oh yeah! ☺

Vacation!

I disappeared! We just returned late last night from our Branson vacation. We had a fantastic time! A little eventful, but fantastic! :)

A few little issues that transpired -

1.) 1/2 our room was flooded when we arrived, so we had to switch rooms after we had already unpacked! Not fun @ 9:00 p.m. after an 8 hour drive. With 4 little people in tow. Switching rooms actually worked out better in the long run! :)

2.) Jaguar had a little accident & sliced the skin up & back (& off) above the toenail on her big toe. We doctored it well & thankfully she didn't need to be seen by a dr. It was horrible! She's a trooper. :)

3.) Mercedes had a little fit one night & while I was trying to console her - she head butted me right in the mouth, splitting my lip open & giving me a nice, fat lip just in time for dinner. :)

4.) Yesterday as were to leave - Jaguar woke up with a horrible, horrible cold - but we had to get on the road. She is still sick today & has been in bed all day.

5.) On our trip home we stopped for gas - Jaguar walked under the gas hose while hubby was pumping gas - she knocked the nozzle out & her & hubby got SOAKED with spraying gasoline. Fortunately the Shell station had a shower & they took a shower & changed clothes. Thankfully nothing sparked; my entire family could have perished had anything gone wrong. Gasoline was everywhere!! In the car the gas smell was so strong, we had to stop again & throw away all clothes & shoes, even though we had bagged them numerous times. There is no way we could have traveled the 3 remaining hours smelling those fumes. Hubby didn't like throwing away his tennies. :)

6.) And lastly, Miss Melissa here decided fear was not going to get the best of her regarding her fear of waterslides (bad experience years ago - I thought I was going to drown) - so I sucked it up, prayed a lot & went down an enclosed, twisty, waterslide three times! Woot! The bad news is I must had pulled something during my 'inappropriate' thrushes from the water tubes - as today I am in the worst pain I have ever experienced. We believe I pulled a muscle (severely) or a nerve/something. I thought I was headed to the ER, but as of tonight, I am doing much better! Yippee! And yippee again for conquering my fear of waterslides! Although I wouldn't exactly say I'm ready to ride those suckers again. ;o)

I don't have many photos because my lens would fog over at the indoor waterpark, but I do have a few & I have a few of the little people riding gokarts. I'll try to post them in the next couple of days. Still trying to unwind from our week & I have been slowed down considerably considering (heehee, double whammy) I can barely walk.

But really, does anyone read my blog anymore anyway? I don't think so. If you do, please let me know.

Have a wonderful week! ☺

Home at last.

We survived. We are tired. We are dirty.

How come you go on vacation to relax from every day life, & then when you get home, you have to relax from vacation? Funny how that works.

We had fun. Lots of photos. I only forgot one little thing. One big, little thing. The video camera! Grr! I even purchased a camera bag that has it's own little compartment for a video camera - took the bag, forgot the camera! At least I had my Canon.

When we left on Monday, Mercedes had no teeth. None. Couldn't even see any or feel a thing. She came home today w/ two teeth. LOL No kidding!

Sarah - would you believe it is 'cooler' in Galveston than here in the DFW area? Yep. It was in the high 80's/low 90's all week. Probably partially because of hurricane Dolly & partially the ocean. When we arrived home today, my car read 106.

The ocean hates my hair. Or my hair hates the ocean. Not sure which. All I know is that I got a lot of "whoa!"s from my husband & one "your hair is alive!" from Bentley. Ha! I have naturally curly hair for those that don't know. It was one wild & crazy mess. Very scary indeed.

Everything at the hotel was great except...we had no hot water. Minor detail. I also learned that I take my washing machine for granted. I couldn't wait to wash clothes - already have a load in. If Mercedes' clothes come clean (due to veggies/fruits mixed with formula = icky reflux) I will be calling Shout myself to congratulate them.

Off to a hot shower! More to come later after we recuperate. Ü

Oh, wait! How could I forget? Now. What are the chances of traveling that far from home & running into a relative? Oh yes we did! I snapped his photo for proof! I really couldn't believe we ran into my brother! My children. How they love their Uncle. Ü

I think I'm too tired to go.

Tomorrow a.m. we head out to Galveston for vacation! Yay! Ü

Do you have any idea what it's like to pack for 6 people, one being a 6 month old? Let's see here. In no random order we have -

Food. Lots of food. Tons of snacks.
Capri Sun, water & cokes.
Bottles. Washing all before heading out.
Nipples. Boiled some more new ones.
Pacies.
Bathing suits for all.
Life jackets.
Beach towels. Had to wash so they'd be clean.
Our paper towels.
Our body soap.
Our hand soap.
Clorox wipes.
Wet ones.
Baby food - including cereal, crackers, stage 1, baby juice, puffs.
Burp cloths.
Disposable bibs.
Tossable bowls, sippy cups & baby spoons.
Portable high chair.
Scratch above, add Bumbo Seat. Maybe. If there's room. If not, we'll use carseat.
Toys for 4 children.
1 suitcase of clothes. Had to wash all clothes so they'd be clean. I'm picky. ;o)
3 duffel bags of clothes.
2 beach bags.
Sunscreen.
Toiletries. Had to buy miniatures 'cause they take up less space.
Our toilet paper.
Cailyn's hair products.
6 bottles of formula.
Camera & accessories.
Video camera.
Cell phones & accessories.
Trash bags for dirty clothes.
Baby float.
Ice.
Cooler.
Diapers.
Wipes.
Extra Wal-Mart bags for God knows what.
Pack-n-Play.
Quilted sheet for above. Had to wash so it'd be clean & even went to buy another - they were out. Ugh.
Movies.
Nintendo.
Blow dryer.
Makeup mirror.
Makeup.
Mini fan for noise.
Mini microwave for bottles.
Medicine droppers & medications. Ran out of Caibs medicine - 1st thing we have to do when we get there is get that filled. Oy!
Pillows.
Play blanket for Mercedes.
My hair products including clips & visors.
Hubby's hair products. Oh wait, he has no hair. Ü
Contacts.
All pairs of glasses.
Baby Bjorn.
Little Swimmers.
Visine. Cannot live without Visine.
*Adding dish soap for Katie. I don't have a bottle brush so I think I'll buy one or I'll try using a wash cloth. Thanks Katie! :)

I tend to overpack. LOL Ü

I wonder if there will be room for the passengers?

I also had to board Kosh & pack him. Yes, I pack for the dog. He is part of the family, after all. ;o)

Tomorrow a.m. we need to drop off Kosh (oh he's going to be so mad!), pay the yard man & grab some cash.

We are off! By then someone should need a potty break. LOL :o)

See you next week! Ü