Team Marien

China Day 8: Summer Palace & Chengdu

2011-12-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

Day eight has arrived, and today would be our last day in Beijing until we returned to head back to the States. The families would be splitting in half at the end of the day heading in different directions across China. It was time for our last yummy breakfast. The Chinese take breakfast seriously and have what I consider dinner foods along with some traditional American breakfast items, including my favorite the omelet station

Charlotte joined us for our last breakfast at the hotel...We will miss you Charlotte.

Everyone is packed up and checked out....Time to go!

Good bye Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven. I promise I will return with my family in tow.

The daily "waiting on the grown ups" activity had been established by the girls. It took me back to elementary school and I must say I got pretty good, pretty quick. It was a fun way to get to know the girls better and become part of their group.

Our last day was spent among the splendor of The Summer Palace. The Summer Palace was a place where the royalty of China came to rest among the Imperial Gardens. It is a place where the design of the Chinese is intertwined with nature in a seamless balance, something their culture has fully embraced in a way no one else has.

Did I mention these girls love to start playing their hand games as much as they can?!

Yes I love Lily Pads!!

Oh my goodness...The children of China take my breath away!

Stunning...I could have sat and stared for hours!

So beautiful

Nothing better than scaling the walls of the Summer Palace...While I watched them I thought about all the little Royal Chinese kiddos that use to play all over these grounds, just like our girls!

One of my favorite places at The Summer Palace was called the "Long Corridor". It was built in the 18th century and is famous for its extraordinary paintings. It was constructed so that Emperor Qianlong's mother would have somewhere to walk the gardens no matter what the elements. The drawings speak for themselves!

How cute is she?? Hanging out with her grandfather!

"Hi precious girl!"

The center of the "Long Corridor"

Of course there were many vendors throughout The Summer Palace....after all it is now a public park. We came across this vendor...Really?? They love Obama in China...Really China Really?? But interesting that they compared him to Mao!

Picture perfect moment!

Heading to lunch I ran across this sweet boy and his grandfather....who could resist that face!

Friends For Life!!

China as a majority is a Godless country. A country told who and what to believe. I guarantee God is at work in China and it amazed me because I felt God everyday in the beauty and splendor of China, especially here. This bridge was so peaceful and tranquil, if you took the time to stop you could feel him in the breeze from the willow tree. The power of the Holy Spirit was and is definitely in China!!

Time for our last meal together as a large group! Michael sat with all his babies. I could see it in his eyes how much he loves and cares for each one of these precious China babies, many that he helped find their forever families. Whether he knows it or not God has used Michael in powerful ways by helping shape the lives of these precious girls and their forever families! Thank you Michael!

Back out to enjoy The Summer Palace...look I found another baby, out like a light!

The girls were called over by an artist who put "tatoos" on the Chinese girls who don't speak Chinese. People were facinated by the Chinese girls and their American families!

"The Marble Boat" was also known as the Boat of Purity and Ease

Kunming Lake

Time for a boat ride across Lake Kunming

The Seventeen-Arch Bridge

Michael and the families he brought together with the gift of adoption

Once we were back on the bus it was time to head to the airport. This meant it was time to say goodbye to Charlotte. Charlotte was more than a guide, she had become our friend. She is kind, wise, thoughtful and so much more. Laura, Skye, and I cherished our time together with Charlotte. Skye wrote her a sweet note with our tip to make sure that Charlotte knew she had a valuable effect on us and we would always have a special place for her in our hearts!

I think the feelings were mutual!

We arrived at the Beijing airport and again turned many heads! Not only were we a bunch of American's with Chinese children, we had a ton of luggage!

Welcome to Chengdu...Famous for their Panda Bears!!

Even our hotel welcomed us with a sweet panda bear hello!

It had been a long day, fun filled with people and places. Laura and I just needed to get some air and walk around where we wanted at our own pace. So, we went out to check out the neighborhood.

Looked like Christmas with all the lights, but it was only June!

Another statue of Mao in the town square

Wait...do my eyes deceive?? No...it's a STARBUCKS in the middle of China! I see a skinny vanilla latte in my future, ahhhh a piece of home! Oh no, how do you say skinny vanilla latte in Chinese?? Where is my Charlotte when I need her?

Work doesn't stop, even in the rain!
Thus ended our long day and an airplane ride to Chengdu. I am excited to see all of the beauty this city and enjoy the provence of Sichuan, famous for their spicy Sichuan food. Tomorrow is a brand new day with a new guide, adventure lies ahead!!

China Day 7: Jade Factory, Great Wall, Cloisonné Factory, Bird's Nest & Water Cube

2011-12-27T12:33:00.002-07:00

Today it was warm and you could hear China calling us tocome out and play. Come out and play wewould!! Watch out here come the American’s again!

Traffic is everything you have heard. Charlotte, our guide, told us there are onaverage 9 million bikes and 5 million cars on the roads of Beijingeveryday. Rush hours can last up to 11hours a day!

Recognize this building from the new Karate Kid?? It actually burned down and they were almost done rebuilding it. I guess the Chinese people can get a little crazy with their fireworks on Chinese New Year!

Our first stop of the day was the Jade factory. The history of Jade goes back as far as theChinese civilization and was defined as beautiful stones by Xu Zhen(58-147). The Chinese love Jade becauseof its culture, meaning and humanity. AChinese saying is, “Gold has value; Jade in invaluable”. Jade symbolizes beauty, nobility, constancy,power, grace, purity, and immortality in the Chinese culture. Everywhere you turn there was Jade. The women wear their jade bracelets 24/7 andget them so tight they never come off. They will pass them down the generations. There are different colors of Jadestones. Chinese women covet the greenJade that are filled with flecks of colors. There was fake Jade everywheretourists go, so if you are traveling to China be sure you are paying for thereal thing. It was incredible to watchthem creating and carving the Jade into items that cost up to $20,000.

The Jade Factory Beijing

They would chisel away at one piece for days!

Or months...

Or years!!

The Olympians in 2008 were given medals made out ofjade….amazing!

Yes….Laura, Sky, and I all bought Jade bracelets! Gorgeous!!! I wear mine all the time but didbuy it big enough to slip off. You will notice them in some of the next pictures!

The next stop on our trip was our 2^nd visit toThe Great Wall of China but this time at Badaling! It is a very popular visiting site. This area was extremely steep, we walked and walkedand posed then we walked and walked and posed then we walked some more…

The Great Wall is awe inspiring and many times we would juststop and look at the unending wall…I thought of the men that spent their entirelives building this wall day in and day out until they died. It was a brutal sacrifice. It is an amazing place to reflect.

Did I mention the stair climber has nothing on the Great Wall!

Baby did I mention it was hot!!!

As we headed back toward Beijing we stopped at a CloisonnéFactory. This pottery wasdeveloped in the early fourteen to fifteenth century during the Mingdynasty. They are exquisite and extremely intricate. They furnishedtemples and palaces, because their flamboyant splendor was consideredappropriate to the function of only great structures. They were too flashy for common homes or scholarly places. Cloisonné is extremely tedious and timeconsuming just to make one piece, but they are incredible. We toured the process of making the Cloisonné and thenenjoyed lunch upstairs.

Then we were taking to the shopping area. Prices were much higher than other placeswhere we had seen similar items. We werenot your typical gullible tourists, but it was fun to look!

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the replica TerracottaWarriors that were guarding the factory. I knew we were not going to be visiting the authentic warriors becausethey were not close to any of our locations on our itinerary.

We were off again…when, what to my wondering eyes shouldappear…could it be....The Bird’s Nest and Water Cube!!!

The kiddos were all handed kites and they ran off toward theincredible Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. We were officially on the Beijing Olympic Green! Ilooked at the Bird’s Nest and thought about that astounding opening show andthe beauty of the precision.

My Favorite 3 Girls!

Funny! On the Grass in front of the Bird's Nest

Then I thought about what did I really watch at thatOlympics….Michael Phelps of course!! Awesome!!!

The architecture is characteristic of theChinese people, nothing but the best. The pictures below are not my pictures but I wanted you to see what wewere able to see and what I couldn’t capture because they were peopleEVERYWHERE!!

Time to go…to DINNER!

Fun with friends and lots of píjiǔ (beer). Beer is the only thing they serve cold.

I don't have any other pictures from the evening...why?? Because I'm not sure we even made it to our pillows before we fell down exhausted from an amazing day!

China Day 6 The Forbidden City, The Famous Peking Duck, The Silk Factory, and a Kung Fu Show

2010-08-28T08:45:00.011-06:00

There is no rest for the weary in China and we wouldn't want it any other way. We were up early again ready for a great day. First we went to the Forbidden City. This is where the emperor lived and his council came to him. It was obviously off limits to everyone else until they opened it to the public. It is a huge landmark where everyone wants to visit. It was absolutely packed with people.

Outside each entrance were these mystical lions. There was always a female on the left and a male on the right. The only way to tell the difference was to look closely at their feet. The female had a cub under her left paw. She is not crushing it just holding it down as a symbol of a mother protecting her cub. On the right was the male and he had a ball under his right foot as a symbol of power.

When we first went into the Forbidden City these were the size of the mystical lions. As we continued to go deeper they lions became smaller and smaller. The Emperor and Chinese people believe that these lions ward off evil spirits. They are larger on the outside because that is the first place they encounter these evil spirits that come to do the Chinese people harm. They get smaller because they believe that the evil spirits cannot penetrate past the first ones and if they did the second set would get them, etc. By the time we were in the garden they were the size of a vase that would be used as a centerpiece.

As you cross into the "inner court" this is where the emperor would run China from his throne room. The emperors building was front and center whereas the council had there office (for lack of a better word) on the right and left. You will notice that the stairs going up to the emperors building is cemented off. No one was or is to ever walk those step other than the emperor.

The Chinese people were very interested in the steps and would just stand there looking at them or taking pictures of themselves in front of the staircase. I love the people of China and how much the appreciate and love their history and culture.

Once at the top getting a picture of the throne proved to be quite amusing....worse than a new ride a Disneyland. I took one for the team and pushed my way in. (I know...pushy American's but I promise I was more polite than any of the Chinese people that were there jabbing me in the ribs)

Finally, got my picture and when I turned around...a sea of more people....It was so amusing! Yes, Laura was on the sidelines giggling at me...but not too much because it was SO hot...even laughing made you sweat. :)

The Forbidden City was one of my favorite “touristy” spots because you can feel the intensity of the past in it. The attention to detail in their architecture is stunning!

Just in case you were wondering...the bathroom in the Forbidden City in a Chinese 4 Star rated toliet! A 4 star toliet in China is a 1-2 star here in the states. Needless to say I held it most of the time. :)

These are a few pictures of a traditional Chinese garden in the Forbidden City.

In the gardens you can imagine the women walking around and the emperor sitting on a bench pondering. I think what I love about China is that it is a culture rich in history and tradition. This was an old woman sitting in the garden area...When I looked at her I wondered what her life had been like and what was she thinking about...such a complex look on her face.

After a VERY long and HOT walk through the Forbidden City with 40% of China there with us, it was time for the FAMOUS Peking Duck lunch. I absolutely LOVE Chinese food! Bring it on baby....if only I could figure out how to cook it!

It was incredible to be able to watch the girls experience the real deal!!! Peking Duck…not my favorite! Yes they cook it in original form and carve it in front of you. The Chinese people eat the whole thing, face and all….NOT US AMERICANS! So they left the face on the tray…yum!

Next we went to the silk factory. AMAZING! They showed us how they use the silk from the silk worms and turn it into their famous garments to the most luxurious bedding. Of course I bought Delaney the famous silk dress in red and gold. It is so amazing! I will get her pictures taken in it and share soon. Next trip to China (OH yes we are going back!) we are getting all new bedding and shipping it home!

These are the silk worms they use to make their incredible fabric. Then once they go into their cocoon they soak them in the water below and slowly pull out their silk and it wraps on the spindle on the top of the machine.

Once they collect enough they stretch it out over this rainbow structure below. They start small and then go to the next size up, etc.

Then they stretch it again by hand and pull it into the shape the want...here they were making silk duvet comforters. They let the girls stretch it.

Then the professionals showed us how it was really done. They would use 300-800 layers to make different size quilts by hand!

The Chinese are most famous for there stunning garments. Here is a picture of bush wearing a piece that was created here!

It was gearing towards the late afternoon and in the itinerary there was an optional Kung Fu Show. Everyone in the group opted out but us. When in China do EVERYTHING you can was our motto! We were SO glad we went. It was by far the best show we saw in China. It was a story about a young boy who left his mother to become a monk. It showed his struggles with leaving his entire existence behind then his arrogance as he grew into a great Kung Fu Warrior. Seeing his life come full circle and the wisdom he ended up attaining. Watching this young boy and so many others perform Kung Fu and its strength and control was amazing!

Our precious Sky in the front of the theater!

This was the young man who starred as the younger boy in the show. He sat here beating the drum before the show. He didn't move a muscle other than when he hit the drum...reminded me of the Queen of England's Guards. They would not let us take pictures during the show...sorry...Head to China...I would highly recommend it...LOVED IT!!!

Even bought the CD for my China boy (Drew). If you didn’t know Drew has been to China….he told us all about it when he was around 6 years old…he left us for 2 months and we never knew it. (All happened in his head or dreams but it was so vivid to him he still thinks it was real)…I will tell that story in my last China post!

To close out day six we took a cab back home and some of the things you see on the streets of China boggle my mind! I can barely pedal myself let alone what a home depot truck should carry! xoxoxoxo

2010-06-24T15:08:00.002-06:00

Hello all my China followers,

I am safely home and just now adjusting to the time change. I was home for two days and then right back into the swing of Team Marien with Ao1 Summer Camp. I will have the next post up by tomorrow evening. I hope you are enjoying my travels. It was amazing and I definitely left a piece of my heart in China. xoxoxoxo

China Day 5 Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Hutong Neighborhood, Bell Tower, & Tea House Part 2

2010-06-18T19:32:00.031-06:00

After Tiananmen Square we headed to the Hutong Neighborhood. The Hutong has been around for longer than I can remember. It was the area that the government officials would live in back in the day. Now it is still the center of the city and very expensive to live in but you have to preserve the architecture as historical. It is very difficult to fit cars in the area so we took a rickshaw ride! I got the best driver!! If you are even thinking about running the Amazing Race memorize his picture and if you end up in China in the Hutong neighborhood look for him among the other 20 million Beijing people :) He was SO fast. We were second to last and by the time we arrived at our destination we were second! WOO HOO! He was so fast it was a crazy ride...

The Rickshaws line the alley ways....tons of them everywhere!

The group getting ready to go

We were off

The Hutong Neighborhood Streets

The kids were on a lunch break from school

The same as in the States...the boys play the girls chat...life is universal

We arrived at our destination. We had been invited by a local musician to come to his home for lunch. He cooked for us and told us about his family and played his ancient Chinese instrument. What an honor to be invited into his home. He had cleared the living area for us put up three tables. This is the China I wanted to see!!! The food was delicious and it was a great experience all around.

Our new friends home...Sadly I couldn't write his name let alone pronounce it.

He cooked everything and it was delicious as you can see

Our new friend who we gave many gifts to show appreciation for his hospitality.

Giving us a small taste of the ancient instrument

he plays in the Symphony

He let the girls try it out...

Sky did great! It was a type of violin

After lunch we got in our rickshaw again and were off to visit a home that is surrounded by a courtyard. You go into the gates and they have different living spaces on each side and of course there is a reason of why the set up certain rooms a certain way. Feng Shui at its best. There have been so many symbols I can't remember them all but here is the home beautiful!

We were off again on the rickshaws...

Amazing Race fans this is the face to remember

More of the streets we rode through in Hutong

That's a lot of beer for all you beer lovers...you would love China

The entry to the courtyard

The owner of the home

From there we went back on the rickshaws...my driver cracked me up. He liked to be number two and he would grab on to the first guy and let him pull us until he noticed. Then the first guy would yell at him for at least a minute and my guy would just laugh and laugh...FUNNY!

Off on the rickshaws again...Pic is blurry because we

going so fast! Riding with CharlotteWhere the rickshaws dropped us off....beautiful

We then were off to the Bell Tower. The steps went straight up...the gym can't prepare you for these suckers. The view was beautiful and yet sad....such poor conditions.
The bell tower stairs. I am looking straight up The view of the Hutong neighborhood area From the top
Inside the Tower....lots of ancient drums and bells they still use even today.

Then we were off to a beautiful tea house and we had a formal ceremonial tea! LOVED IT!! I love Chinese tea...it is so good and very different from what we are use to.

The tea ceremony They showed us the traditional way to enjoy specific types of teasThey also told us what each tea does for your healthThis flower tea was very cool...

it started as a seed and bloomed in the waterThe final part they taught us was to make sure your water

was hot enough you needed a pee pee boy...

the pic explains it all!

China Day 5: Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Hutong Neighborhood, Bell Tower, & Tea House Part 1

2010-06-15T20:04:00.023-06:00

Whew! Today was a crazy day!! Today we joined the entire tour group...7 families total. All with girls who were adopted from China. We had to be up and ready to leave earlier than I would like to say and those of you that know me know I am NOT a morning person but I was ready for a great day. Charlotte is a scheduled girl and we were off to follow the flower. She had a flower and we were to find the flower when we were out in VERY busy place.

The Temple of Heaven was beautiful. You can pay to just get into the park or to actually go into the temple areas. The parks are filled with the local people and that is what I loved! I love the people, watching the people, talking to people (which is just Ni Hao) and them pointing and looking at the unusual sites of American's with Chinese children.

The group and Charlotte and the flower

This sweet older gentleman was practicing calligraphy outside

the temple gates! Charlotte says they will come and practice

all day. Michael told me what he wrote, "The Great people of China

are the giant dragon of the Orient!"

Morning dance class in the park

Everything in China is symbolic and there is a reason for how

they create their architecture. This is best explained as the outer courts.

Everything is done in 9's which is the emperor's number. 9 is the highest

ranking number and shows reverence to the emperor who would come here

to pray and meditate. They also believe that square and rectangle stands for

earth and the ground that a circle leads to heaven. That is why the stairs

are leading up to the circle.

The center of the circle at the highest point.

All the beautiful adopted girls from China

The Inner Court where the emperor would come to worship

The emperors inner area of worship...again in circles

The section outside the first part of the Temple...

Dance class anyone can join in

The next section was for Good Harvest established in the early Ming Dynasty

A moment of reflection...again everything is in 9's

The last section of the park was covered in people. People selling

on the streets to us tourist (we definietly stick out), dance classes,

older ladies singing, games. I learned how to say I don't want it very

quickly because they don't tak no thank you or no for an answer but if

you say "buyao" they leave you alone (buyao - sounds like boo-yow).

I loved these men hanging out on the ledge...smile :)

Just another day in the park with heels and dancing

After the Temple of Heaven we loaded on the bus and went to Tiananmen Square. If you do not know about the massacre that the Chinese government inflicted on the young protesters it is to long to write so google it and you will see the sad history. On a brighter note it is the largest city square in any city. It was a lot similar to Washington DC area with their congress, etc. There is a huge section that is a museum that holds the glass coffin of Mao. People come from ALL over China to visit Mao and pay their respects. There are mixed feelings about Mao. He helped us during WW II and had many horrible wars with Japan. I know that some do not think he was horrible and those who believe that he was a terrible horrible leader and man they no one will never speak out about it because punishment would await. If you do not know about Mao and his reign read up on that one also! I think my favorite part was seeing the soldiers! Being a military wife I am very interested in seeing their armed forces.

A group of grils on a fieldtrip

Our group of kids playing with China's version of the

hackie sack....Charlotte was giving them pointers

Part of the Square that overlooks the Forbidden City

and a picture of Mao

China's version of the changing of the gaurds

I have to sign off for today and will finish up with the neighborhoods of the Hutong and the rest of the day. Don't want to over run Erin with too many pictures to post. THANKS SISTER! xoxoxoxo

China Day 4: "A Day of Rest...or so we thought!"

2010-06-12T13:49:00.028-06:00

Today we had a day off to rest and hang out and walk around. Diane set it up to meet Susan at our hotel. Susan works with Asia. Asia is the adoption agency that both the Sundvall's and the O'brien's used for their adoptions. Michael was one of the founders of Asia. Susan was a huge part of their adoption process here in China. I had heard so many things about Ms. Susan and the love they had for her and was very excited to be able to finally meet her and her adopted daughter. We met down in the lobby at noon. In came Susan and Ying Ying! It was a great reunion for everyone and it was easy to see by Susan's smile why everyone loved her so much! She is bright, bubbly, outgoing, big hearted, and lights up a room. Her sweet daughter ying ying was the opposite of her mama. More reserved and shy and unsure of the loud Americans. Susan and her girls..Ying Ying, Sophie, Sky, and Jing

Ying Ying brought presents for all the girls...

So sweet (she even tried to match them to their outfits).

We took Ms. Susan across the street to our favorite dumpling place and just hung out. The girls brought all their art and shared with Ying Ying and she really started to warm up to us and even grabbed my hand to walk. Even though I had only known Susan for 20 minutes I was already part of her family, such an amazing woman. While we were at lunch Ms. Susan said, "From bottom of my heart I would love you to come to my apartment...See where I live!" How in the world could you ever say no...to see a real home was such a blessing so we went back to the hotel called a driver and we were off. No day of rest for the weary but I would never want it any other way. It was a 40 minute ride but so worth it. I really want you to feel the real life in China so here are a few pictures I took on the way. The nicer apartment complex

The streets of Beijing

We got to Ms. Susan's home. It was a very nice upper middle class apartment. There are six buildings with a gate and a courtyard. She was very proud of their home and it was such a blessing to go inside. Ying Ying was very excited to get every toy out for her new friends.

Laundry in the courtyard...No HOA here

Ms. Susan's home on the 4th floor - her scooter on the right :)

Their bathroom

Her hallway with the smallest washing machine

I have ever seen...I would never get through our

laundry...let alone baseball uniforms!

Her Kitchen

Her office where familes are connected with China...

Magic happens here! Little does Susan know that she

is doing God's work!

Susan's wedding picture...stunning

Then it was off to dinner but not before causing a ruckus in the courtyard...I don't think many American's come through.
Very Curious
New Friends....Sky and Ying Ying

Ms. Susan had a surprise for us on the way to dinner. She took us to get massages by blind masseurs, even for the girls. WOW!! She refused to let us pay! How sweet is she...It was amazing! The best massage I have ever had and I have had quite a few. I had a shoulder, neck, and head. It was like melting butter...What a gift the blind masseurs have in touch and they were so kind. I had a 30 minute massage for $5 US dollars...not a typo $5. We were a sight to behold and it was awesome. If your ever in Beijing let me know :) AMAZING!!

Here come the American's

Laura and Diane were like jelly!

Then we were off to a fun dinner at a very busy restaurant that is very popular in the local area. We had a semi-private room and shared it with another family. I will have to say my favorite part of dinner was the family next to us. They had two children that were cousins. We said Hi in chinese and the mother said no in English. The mother spoke beautiful english and here children were very good as well. They had so much chatting with us and the feeling was mutual. We found out that it was the mothers birthday and they were celebrating. She was STUNNING! Dinner! We only waited 5 minutes to be seated and it

reminded me of Texas Roadhouse where you eat and shell

peanuts on the floor but in China...Sunflower seeds on steroids!

Me and Nico

Beautiful Mama and Daughter

True Beauty of China

Sadly, we were back to the hotel...not rested...but filled with memories from a beautiful day. THANK YOU SUSAN!!!

China Day 3: Enjoying the Night Life of Beijing

2010-06-09T21:34:00.020-06:00

After our heartfelt day at Shepherd's Field we were ready to enjoy the night life. We cleaned up (it is so hot and muggy) and were on our way!

(Sophie, Sparkling Sky, and Jing)

The dresses were a sweet gift from the O'Brien's

Mingling with the people and walking the streets is by far my favorite part of the Beijing experience. (That of course does not hold a candle to the orphanage babies) Here are some great pictures of the life that people live here. Remember, these pictures are of the middle class people of the cities (the country side is a much poorer area). The Girls walking the streets of their heritage A very different way of life Children are universal...playing with Pokemon card

We went to a wonderful dumpling restaurant that Michael took us too. People are fascinated with the American's with Chinese children. We were fascinated at the dumpling cooks...they were more interested in us. We are a sight to behold. Have I mentioned I hold a mean chopstick :) I can grab anything now...love it! Steamed buns (dumplings) Yum! Sky loves her dumplings! We all love our dumplings! We are all part of the clean plate club Sky sharing her American chocolate with a little...

she picked it up with chopsticks...precious!

After dinner we headed out to walk the streets. The people of China are always out on the streets but at night there are people everywhere! There homes are VERY small. Upper middle class would have an apartment with 2 bedrooms about 500 square feet. As American's we have a hard time imagining that. Being outside gives them freedom to move around. We stumbled upon an exercise area on the corner of a street. These are everywhere...The girls loved it and I loved the people!

I love to watch the older generation

These little girls giggled everytime we talked and followed us around!

This daddy was enamored with his little boy
(reminded me of Paul) They waved and talked lots of Chinese to us

I don't think this generation really enjoyed the Americans
taking over his turf!

Michael, Sophie, and I had fun working out our abs

twisty turning machine

I will finish off my post with ONE of my MANY favorite things about Chinese people. Two words...SPLIT PANTS...Pictures speak louder than

words. If I see any of the split pants so will you...LOVE THEM!

For easy bathroom access on squatty potty

(Squatty potties will be another post, but the

words describe it perfectly. If you ever travel to

China practice squats and lunges)

Tomorrow we met with a wonderful friend of the Sundavall's and O'Brien's who was a LARGE part of their adoption process in China, Ms. Susan! Till then...xoxoxoxo

China Day 3: Shepherd's Field Children's Village

2010-06-07T21:24:00.037-06:00

Today was one of the days that I was most looking forward to! We went to Shepherd's Field, which is an orphanage for special needs children. I have been praying for China's Orphans and they are very close to my heart. In the large cities of China such as Beijing each family is only allowed to have one child. Custom in China is that the boys take care of their families and everyone wants a boy. Girls are abandoned and heavily outweigh the boys on the healthy adoption list. Special needs is a different story. The ratio here for girls and boys is equal because if a family has a child who is not what is perceived as "perfect" many will abandon them and try again. Another reason is because the families cannot afford to keep their children and have to abandon them. China is still a very poor nation and it is heart wrenching to know that in order to stay afloat they have to abandon their unhealthy child.

A man by the name of Tim Baker is the one who began Shepherd's Field and is still to this day being led by the hand of God through every detail. Tim had a love for the orphans of China and wanted to help so he began working with orphanages here. He became a known figure in the small community where he lived. What we would consider the mayor was at a gathering where Tim was. After hearing Tim talk he very casually said if you need anything let me know. Tim said I would love to have one of your homes so I can bring children in with special needs. The mayor said call me and was done with it. Tim was on the phone the next morning and much to the surprise of the mayor who said in our terms, "You were serious about that!" Tim was given the structure and needed to turn it into a house. After all of the money was raised he began the renovation. Tim was warned many times by the mayors staff that as soon as he finished the mayor was going to take the house back. He just wanted Tim to fix it up to avoid the cost. The time came and the house was completed and filled with special needs orphans! The mayor called up not long after that and said he wanted to come see the home Tim created. His staff called as soon as he left and warned Tim that he was coming to take the home back and Tim told them it is what it is and trusted that God provided and had a plan. Tim rushed to the home but the mayor had beat him there. Tim came through the door and the mayor was in a suit laying on the floor covered with children laughing and jumping on him. The mayor had tears streaming down his face and told Tim he had no idea how great Tim's work was. Little did he know that it was God's work not Tim. That same man donated many homes throughout the years to Tim and from there it became Shepherd's Field Children's Village. Tim and his orphans received a piece of land from the government and recently moved to a new area and that is the Shepherd's Field we visited.

I was not sure what to expect when we pulled up but the amazing facility was not what I had imagined. We had gone shopping and were able to bring donations to the children. LOTS of formula (lactose free for the special babies), diapers, fruit, and yogurt. Tim has done an amazing job getting the word out and getting sponsors for children and the facility was beautiful. We were greeted by Clay who is an American that lives with his wife on site and help to run the organization.

Arriving at Shepherd's Field with our donations

One of the many walls of pictures

Clay took us out on the grounds and I asked him how God brought him here. His story was tragic and his path was shown by the grace of God! Clay and his wife Jewel had two boys 18 and 19. The boys went out with their uncle and cousin (high school age) to go Pacific Ocean fishing and they never came home! There was no goodbye just nothing...he teared up and so did I. He said it took him and Jewel a few years to regain their foundation that had been completely ripped out from underneath them. They came to China with a church group to volunteer and then again on their own. They felt God pulling them to China to be with the special needs children. He said they never knew that God would bless them again with so many children. AMAZING family who was dragged through the gutter of grief only to come out on the other side by lighting up the lives of those neglected and abandoned. Our first stop was of course to...SEE THE CHILDREN! I couldn't wait to get my hands on those babies. The older children were outside doing a VBS with a missionary youth group from the south (Alabama I think). They have 5 homes lined up. The first home is the clinic with intensive care children waiting for surgeries or in very bad condition. There are a couple of chinese doctors and then an American husband and wife team who live in the town that are their main doctors. It was not healthy for the children to allow us in there so we went into the next home. Pictures capture the moments better than I could ever write.

The homes the children live in

(20 kids to a home and a nanny for every 2-3 children)

Jackson, Matthew and I playing on the couch

Sky playing with Conner

Laura tickeling Jackson

Jing playing with Clay

Jackson stole my heart with his joy for us

and smile

This area is like the family room of the home. They really try to keep a family type of atmosphere with the nannies (Ayi in chinese) and children. All of the children down here were doing very well and ready to be adopted. Jackson was born with his bowels on the outside of his body. He had his surgery and is happy and ready for a family. The other boys were all doing very well too. We played for a while and then headed upstairs to the children that have larger health issues. Upstairs is a small playroom area. I was instantly drawn to Catherine. I came to find out that Catherine was a strong healthy girl whose adoptive parents were in China to pick her up after waiting a long time to receive her. She got sick one day before they were due to get her. The mother came to get her the next morning and they ran tests. Come to find out Catherine had gotten meningitis and was gravely ill. There are many red tapes to cross when it comes to health issues in the babies. Catherine's mom was with her until she was told Catherine was too sick to be adopted. They gave her mom another child and she had to leave with out her daughter. Catherine is now in full time care here at Shepherd's and is mostly blind, has no muscle control, and has a very difficult time breathing. She stole my heart and I held her the whole time we were up there. Laura was drawn to Teddy. Teddy has cerebral palsy that has effected not only his body but brain as well. Sky took a liking Mya who also had CP, luckily for Mya it only effected her body. Sky, Laura, and I all found out that Mya, Teddy, and Catherine loved to be sung to. There was a joyful noise on the second floor of that home that day.

Laura, Sky and Matthew

My Sweet Catherin

Laura and her sweet Teddy

Sky playing with May

Dr. Moody came in to say "hello"

It was time for the kiddos to go down for a nap so we were treated to lunch at the orphanage. Chris and Jess sat down at our table. The girls are best friends from Maryland and came here with church groups and were forever changed. Chris (black and gray stripes) has been teaching English at Shepherd's for 7 months and has 3 more months to go and Jess is here to teach English for the summer. Sweet girls with amazing hearts....LOVED them!

Then we got to tour the grounds. If you have adopted from China or know someone who has you can purchase a tile in the child's name and the proceeds go to the orphanage. Kyle (Sky's brother) got one for his sisters and we found it on the wall, along with Shaohannah Chapman (Steven Curtis Chapman's daughters tile). They have a beautiful facility and these children are blessed to be under the wings of Jesus at Shepherd's field. We of course bought lots of things in their store where all proceeds go to Shepherd's before we left.

Sky with her tile

Sky's tile

Shaohanna's tile

Wall of Grace

Primary School Room

Visitors get to write on the wall to

leave their "mark"

Clay and Jewel with the girls (Jing, Sky and Sophie)

I will write another post about dinner on Day 3 but it is time for me to sign off for now. I will leave you with what sticks in my heart most with these beautiful creations of God's hand. They are forever engraved in my heart. xoxoxo

Though another may forget I will not forget you.
I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
Is 49

China Day 2: The Great Wall of China

2010-06-07T14:01:00.035-06:00

Today we were off to the a section of the Great Wall called Mutianyu. We had a great breakfast and we were off to the wall.

Sky Michael, and I are ready to climb some history!

This is a picture of Charlotte our tour guide, we love Charlotte!

She is so great and we loved having her.

It was an hour and a half drive and finally arrived...quick picture at the bottom and we are ready to go.

We have our walking shoes on and are ready to go!

We were ready to find some stairs and Charlotte pulled out tickets and we took a gondola ride to the top. No point in wearing yourself out to get TO the wall.

Better to wear yourself out walking the wall.

On the Gondola headed to the top

Picture as we got off the Gondola

Our first view of the Great Wall

Now it was time to start walking. It was amazing to know that you were walking a path that was built 1500 years ago. That people spent their entire lives building this wall one stone at a time. A thought that saddens me to know the life they led and also shows the perseverance of the Chinese culture. I didn't take one minute or step for granted and really tried to soak in the view and experience. I was surrounded by the greatness of creation...Here are only a few of the AMAZING pictures. The haze you see is not the camera or flash it's the smog from pollution in China. This is where we starte out!
Here are some more of the fun pictures of the wall...no need to find a treadmill today :)
Michael and Diane are up above Laura...we were so thankful for the look out points that gave us shade and a breeze in between the steps Yes....there is cell service on the Great Wall of China It was hot and tiring and not enough water in China, but worth every breath! We made it a long way from where we started! We befriended and walked with a sweet family from Austraila (behind us) and they took a great picture of our last stop before turning around.

Steps that went down! A monk came walking past us (not something you see everyday)...and I was able to snap a picture without him realizing!

We met back up at the Gondola and decided it was a must to take the slide back down the mountain...OF COURSE!! Sky rode with me and we were so fast that we got yelled at by all the employees along the way with megaphones yelling..."SLOW DOWN" We didn't really listen...What were they going to do?? Throw us off the wall?
A view of the slide from the Gondola on the way up The wind blowing through our hair!

We had a great lunch in a restaurant there at the bottom of the mountain. Lining the streets were vendors to sell to the tourists. Sorry no pictures...I was in my element it was bargaining time. I found great souvenirs and had a fun time haggling with the vendors...They didn't see me coming and little did they know that Mexico was a great training ground. The trip home was quiet and everyone fell asleep...it was a long but memorable day full of God's beauty and grace. Whoever believes that God is not in China has never been to the Great Wall! He surrounds it and I felt his presence walking with me and I thanked him for the blessing of this opportunity and will not take any minute for granted. Till tomorrow...Blessings from China xoxoxo

China: Day 1

2010-06-06T08:46:00.023-06:00

After a long day of traveling we had an off day with no itinerary or schedule. What to do?? Hit the streets! Our hotel is in the middle of a residential area which is perfect because it allows us to immerse ourselves in the day to day life of the Chinese people. We are traveling with Michael who was the tour guide and adoption guide for Sky. He traveled with the Sundvall's the first time they came to China to adopt Sky and is really a part of their family. We are also here with the O'Brien family (Diane, Austin, Jing, and Sophie). Jing and Sky are BFF's because they were roommates in their orphanage and were adopted on the same day together. The Sundavall's and O'Brien's have stayed very close to each other and the girls have a special bond knowing they shared the same nanny (Ayi) and lived together. We arrived in China 3 days before the rest of our tour group (7 families total). What to do on a day off? Rest?? NO...It is off to enjoy the locals and experience their lifestyle. Everywhere you turn there are senior citizens playing games on the sidewalk, fruit stands, and more than you could imagine.

The Streets Outside our Hotel

Mah Jong on the Sidwalk

Street Vendor. They were cooked so they were safe to eat and Michael bought some for us...Yummy!

Sky and Jing!

Market Place!

The kids were very excited to interact with Chinese children and Ni Hao has become a constant word. There was a school in session and the kids were so excited to peek through the wall to see what the children were doing. The Chinese children were playing at recess.

We stopped and got a treat for the girls at a local bakery and watched the people go by...or rather the people watched us. American's with Chinese children get lots of stares and smiles. We also saw a police man on his bike.

Here are a few more neighborhood pictures

We finished off the day with a fantastic dinner at a dumpling restaurant! It was great and we loved every dish! That Michael sure does know how to order food! We sat outside and enjoyed every minute of bustling China around us. The bikes, cars, and horns. We had a few people take pictures of the American's in their neighborhood...We finished off the night with Diane losing control of her chopsticks and dropping a dumpling in the beer.

Then it was off to bed. I am pretty sure that when my head hit the pillow it only took a minute or two and we were all asleep. TOMORROW...our first visit to the Great Wall of China!!! xoxoxoxo

Travel Day: Hawii to China

2010-06-04T08:15:00.013-06:00

All of my blog posts will come later than the actual day we experienced it because there is NO blogging allowed in China. They block a lot of different sites such as blogging, facebook, twitter, and lots more. My amazing sister Erin agreed to let me email her my blog writings and pictures and she would post them for me! LOVE YOU ERIN!! Also, I am studying for an exam I have to take, yes while I'm in China! After that I will be right on top of all the posts. Thanks for bearing with me and China's rules!

Today we finally get to head on our trip to China! It is June 1st and I cannot believe it is finally here! We headed off to the airport with our luggage ready to go! The flight was 7 1/2 hours long. I was tired and slept for a few hours and studied. The girl sitting next to me was named Jennifer. She had been studying in America and got her masters degree and was headed back home after 4 years. She was very sweet and was going to be on the next flight with us also.

Then we landed in Tokyo! Tokyo was beautiful as we began the arrival pattern on the plane. Here are some pictures I took from the window.

Of course we had a layover that was 7 hours long! Geesh! But we found comfy cubical thing and we got wifi and hung out and ate local japanese food...udon noodles and miso soup...yum!

We met up at the gate with Jennifer and it ended up she sat in the seat next to me again...Funny! Our last leg of the flight to Beijing took 3 1/2 hours and by that point we had been up almost 24 hours and were SO tired. No pictures because it was very dark out and there was nothing to see. We landed at 10:30pm on June 2nd in China! We headed to customs where you had to be very careful to not look sick, be respectful, and look happy. There was an American lady in a line next to us and all of the sudden they told her to get follow them and one of the officials told her to sit down and rest and they hovered over her like hawks. We have no idea what she did...if she looked or acted tired, coughed, or the just didn't like her. We made it through customs thirty minutes later and she was still sitting there with them standing in from of her. We headed out to baggage and our tour guide "Charlotte" (Chinese name I can't write) was waiting for us! We hopped in our van and were off to the hotel. It took about thirty minutes to get to the hotel and so it was about midnight when we got there. Michael, is the man who owns and founded Always and Forever Homeland Tours. Michael was with the Sundvall's when they received Sky as a baby when they adopted her her in China. Michael lives in Portland and he doesn't come for many of the tours so we are so blessed to have him with us the WHOLE time we are here! Michael was waiting for us at the hotel and had gifts to welcome Sky back to her homeland! It was so sweet to be there for their first moment!

The next moment we put our heads on our pillows and that was the end of travel day but just the beginning of our jet lag...Watch out China here come the American's! xoxoxoxo

Last Day in Hawaii

2010-06-01T23:55:00.008-06:00

Today we woke up and Tim wanted to take all the rest of the Sundvall clan to the Mainland...So it was off to Oregon they went. First, the woke up and got ready!

Quinn was ready to go before her brothers were even downstairs.

Ready to get on a plane...Kyle was lollygaggin' and didn't make it in the picture :)

There's Kyle!! Instead of heading to the airport to catch a commercial flight they grabbed their bags and walked across the street... went to the terminal and hopped on a KC-10 to the states!

I took these pictures on Laura's front yard in my jammies! That is what I call traveling!!!

Tim is the tall guy in blue almost at the top of the stairs with all three kiddos in tow!

One last wave to us and they were off to Travis AFB...They got to go down to the boom operator and watch them refuel midair! VERY COOL! They said way better than Delta! Gotta love it!!

The rest of the day we ran errands to help Laura and Sky get all of their last minute items and then I helped Laura pack! Whew! CHINA here we come! If we can make it through the jet lag and airport fun!! xoxoxo

Hawaii...Day at the Beach!

2010-05-31T10:38:00.016-06:00

There is nothing better than waking up, enjoying a cup of coffee, then off to the BEACH! Day 2 in Hawaii was a day at Hale Koa on Waikiki beach. First we had lunch at a great restaurant that had amazing Mac N Cheese. (Yes, Mac N Cheese-it had truffle oil in it...yum!!) Then we headed to Hale Koa. Hale Koa is a military hotel on Waikiki. We showed our ID's and dropped our bag by this great pool that the Sundvall kids love to swim at. It had a huge shade tree and Tim and Laura settled in under the tree with Quinn to swim in the pool and I took Kyle, Kade, and Sky to the beach. There is nothing like the ocean to feel the presence of God. It is so magical! I love to feel the breeze, squish my toes in the sand, listen to kiddos splashing and playing around me, and watch the surfers. Not to mention the enormous ships and sailboats that go by. Here is the view from where I sat...

The first picture is a picture of Hale Koa to my left and the last picture is a picture of the Hilton on my right. What an amazing day...

After enjoying the beach I headed back to the pool. Relaxing with a pina colada, fresh fruit, book, and great company under the huge shade tree. Life was good today! It amazed me but the view from the pool was just as tranquil.

In Hawaii the beauty overtakes you at times. The food and culture are amazing but one thing I never realized were that they had the strangest looking trees. Everywhere you turn you see God. I love it! I am so blessed to be able to come here for a few days of R and R before we go to China and that is only possible because I have the most amazing husband in the world! I left my heart in Denver but am thankful for the opportunity to experience this "Trip of a Lifetime" and having peace knowing that Paul is the most capable, generous, and loving father and husband. Thank you my love...xoxoxo

The Journey Begins!

2010-05-29T23:54:00.004-06:00

As many of you know I am leaving tomorrow for a whirlwind trip to Hawaii for 2 days then off to China! My dearest friends live in Hawaii at Hickam AFB and have adopted 3 amazing kiddos from China. Their first one Sky is ready to go back and experience her culture and they have invited me to go along. I am so blessed! Laura, Sky, and I will leave Hawaii on June 1 and be in China until June 17th. Paul, being the amazing hubby he is is taking on the kids and the CALENDAR!!

Today I left for Hawaii! I know twist my arm. I left early this morning and arrived in Hawaii at 2:30pm their time 6:30pm my time. I was greeted by my dear friends with a beautiful Lei! It smelled AMAZING! We have been having fun catching

up and hanging out. We gathered up the family and went to dinner on base at the Seabreeze. It overlooked the ocean...Paradise! Kalua pig and rice for dinner...for all you foodies...yum! It is 8:00pm here and midnight in Denver so I am a little on the tired side (woke up at 5am/Denver time). Tomorrow we are headed to Waikiki. Till then....xoxoxoxo

View from the airplane on arrival

Honolulu Airport (nothing like the Denver airport)

View from the Seabreeze

My Sweet Sundvall Family

I'M BACK!!!!!

2010-03-07T09:34:00.004-07:00

My last post was the first pre-season games in football!!??? WHAT??? Ok to say I stink at blogging is an understatement! Now that all family is in Tucson (yes Erin left paradise for the desert) I need to keep everyone updated with pictures and all that so I need to find time in my schedule to blog.

Are you really that busy? Well, actually yes I am! I have three amazing kids that I am a shuttle service for, volunteer in their classrooms, and all around fixer and mother. Jared is almost 13! SAY WHAT? A teenager....ahhhh...and so handsome at that! I am a military wife STILL to the most amazing solider and did I mention that I went back to school...yes back to school!

All my kiddos are in full day school and mama wants to be a nurse! So I am going back to school to finish up my pre-req's and then will get my BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) WOO HOO!! I am loving it! Last semester I took my advance psychology class and this semester I bumped it up with Biology and Sociology. The biology is so fun and interesting but by far the hardest professor I have ever had!! I am really enjoying it and it is fun to DO my homework with the kids :) But, for some reason they always finish before me and leave me in the dust! In the fall I have math and know that Jared will have to reteach me :)

There is so much that happened since Jared's pre-season in football: more football, a scary hospital stay, broken bones, amazing theater productions, and more! Stay tuned for all those great stories but first...I have a journey that I'm headed on...CHINA! Follow along!

FOOTBALL BABY!!

2009-09-02T14:55:00.061-06:00

It is here! It is so football season. Not only does it mean the Broncos are playing (yeah, yeah I know not well) but it means that Jared and Hawks Royal are in the zone! I love to watch Jared play.

What do you really need for football season...WELL..since it WAS my birthday it was really a serious high tech camera...I so got it and LOVE it! I got some amazing pictures! OHHHH I am so excited wait until you see...yes I am a little giddy!

Just a little info on Jared! To his coaches surprise he has grown 7 inches since December...YES 7...He is the same height as me and is only 12. Jared is also lightning fast! Jared plays flanker and cornerback. Enough chit chat lets get to the games!

Hawks Royal played in a pre-season tournament this past weekend. To say we killed is an understatement.

For the weekend....Hawks Royal 94 points....Opponents (all together)14 ..... OUCH! Here are some of Team Marien's favorite recaps....Jared is 23

Jared just got passed the ball on a reverse

Jared is behind 7 who is ready to block for him

Still runnin'...did I mention it was 4th down

And that's how it's done! "Dude! That was awesome...Did you see them runnin' after you?"This was Jared playing corner on defense...That ball ain't going any further!
Tough to see Jared in this photo but if you look carefully the kid he was stopping...He just pulled him down on top of him. He is in front of 87...WOO HOO!

Ready for my favorite touchdown of the weekend! Again, lightning fast!!

Run Forrest RUN!!!

Hey Mom...I'm ready for my close up

OK boys chase after me...you too Ref

WOO HOO! Way to go kid! (I cheered after I stopped shooting)

For all you football fans: Jared's Stats = 3 touchdowns, 3-2 point conversions, caused one fumble, won two awards from coaches

Another Delaney-ism

2009-09-02T14:47:00.002-06:00

It was the second week of school and Delaney is all full fledged first grader. It is a Wednesday and Delaney finally gets out of bed and comes downstairs for breakfast. She is happily eating her breakfast (slowly) and I tell her when she is finished she will need to go upstairs and get dressed. She looks at me STONE COLD and says, "WHY?" I look at her and say, "...because you have to go to school soon and we need to finish getting ready." Again stone cold and DEAD SERIOUS..."I'M NOT GOING TO SCHOOL!" I look at her again trying to hide my smile because she is super cute and respond with a head tilt and she says in a very firm mommy voice..."I NEED A BREAK!" At this point it takes everything in my inner being to not die with laughter but I say, "Honey you will get a break on Saturday." Delaney responds with, "That is TOO far...I'm tired." and stomps upstairs...

FUNNY! First grade is definitely an adjustment!

That is all I have to say about that!

2009-08-13T21:05:00.003-06:00

SO FUNNY I had to share...

Delaney my sweet six year old pulls her Daddy aside the other night and says, "Daddy! I told all my friends that you drink alcohol!" Paul looks at her and said, "Which friends did you tell?" Delaney replied very sweetly, "ALL OF THEM!"

So next time you have a beer with dinner remember that it may get around the first grade faster than you can say..."Recess!"

That is all I have to say about that!

34th Birthday!

2009-08-13T20:52:00.006-06:00

Can I really be 34?? Crazy how time flies by but it must be true. Married for almost 14 year to the most amazing man...a 12 year old that is as tall as I am....a fourth grader that uses words that I have to look up in the dictionary....and a first grader in school full time who runs into my arms everyday! Priceless! Last year with the "Police" incident (see august archieves-funny and memorable) made this years birthday seem so quiet. The positives are that I STILL get carded everytime I order anything "from the special grown up menu"!

I must say as I ponder my last year that all I can say right now is that I am truely blessed! Blessed by a gracious and forgiving God knowing that I fail daily but still loving me unconditionally and pressing me forward. Blessed with a husband that not only stands up for our family and leads us with selflessness but a soldier who does the same for this amazing country. Blessed with an incredible family full of passion and life and who choose to live for everyday not just tomorrow. A family that brings me joy everyday! Blessed with friends that are an extension of what makes me who I am. What more could a girl ask for...I love you all and thank you for loving me for who I am and helping me see the me I want to be!

VEGAS BABY!

2009-07-25T13:45:00.015-06:00

Nothing better than a Chick Flick and Blogging!

As you all know Paul went off to Weapons School on January 2nd. Basically to give you an idea this is the "Top Gun" of the Air Force! It is the best of the best. Applying is a tedious process and from there they are extremely selective! When Paul got selected it was bitter sweet! HUGE career move but he was leaving for six months. Little did we know that this was going to be the hardest deployment we have ever had (yes...way harder than Iraq). We knew it was a tough course meant to weed out those that were not up to the standard. BUT, we now know it was 16 hour work days 5 days a week and 12 hours on Sat/Sun. We would only get to talk every 2-4 days and it was usually when he was running somewhere to grab something to eat. By the time he left the squadron (average 1-2am) and then would go back in (6am) we were sleeping so no time to chat...Thank God for texing! To make matters worse Paul was the class leader. He was the highest ranking officer and not only had to complete all the course but had to make sure everyone else was up to par and help them work through their issues. And issues there were....imagine 12 people working together 16 hours a day 7 days a week for six months. This course is so difficult that they only offer it twice a year and Paul's class started off with 12 and only graduated 10. That should give you an idea of the pressure and level of standard. Many families did not understand how difficult Weapons Schools was and it took its toll on the class...it definitely put pressure many marriages with the little to no contact. FUN TIMES FOR PAUL!! (You should see all the gray :) He figured it out in the end. Their Intelligence Class put in over 2000 hours in 152 days. To put that into our civilian terms if you work 40 hours a week you put in 2,080 hours in a year! They worked over that in 5 1/2 months. WOOO HOOO!

To say January moved by very slowly would be an understatement. Paul was overwhelmed and seriously stressed and I was so missing my best friend. My sister who is the most amazing sister and friend (and the best Auntie EVER) told me she would take my kiddos for the weekend and to go buy a plane ticket! WOO HOO!! She didn't have to tell me twice...Valentine's Day and Paul here I come!!

I knew Paul would still have to work but I am quite good at entertaining myself and I was one of the few that really understood the difficulty that was put on the WUG's (better know in laymans terms as students)! I flew out Friday early in the afternoon knowing I wouldn't see Paul until that night! God was so good and I knew not to expect much but Paul just so happened to be in between phases and only had to go in for smaller blocks of time for the weekend! YEA!!! AND Monday was Presidents day and it was a federal holiday so they only had to work an 12hr day!

We had reserved a room at the "Trump" for our romantic getaway. There was no way either of us wanted to stay in the dark-dingy base dorm room. I love to see real pictures of great hotels from real people so here are some pictures of the Trump Vegas!
On a side note...I love Valet Parking

I told you I could entertain myself...Give a girl a mirror and a camera:)

While I waited I went shopping (of COURSE!) I headed off to fashion show mall. Only in Vegas do they have a mall with a catwalk that comes out of the floor and has "hot" girls parading in swimsuits. (At least that's what I think they were)...Nordstroms, Sax 5th Ave, Bloomies here I come!Paul finally got there around 9 and we were off for a great weekend. He had to work during the day but went in at 5am and stayed until 1pm and then we had the afternoon to ourselves. We love the nightlife and there is nothing better than people watching in Vegas. We walked the strip more times than I could count. We went to the Toby Keith Bar and Grill and danced the night away and had a blast! (WE LOVE TOBY KEITH!!) We went through all the hotels and many of the bars and ate at amazing restaurants, including Mario Batali's (one of our favorite's). Valentines Day we got massages and spent the day at the Spa (ahhhhhhh) and that night we stayed in knowing there was no point in paying $500 for dinner. We went and got wine, cheese, and bread and had a picinic in front of our floor to ceiling view of Vegas! It was amazing and that is all I have to say about that ;)

Along with eating our way through 4 and 5 star restaurants we went and saw "The Phantom of the Opera!" Incredible, amazing, sensational, stunning...just a few words to describe it! I basically had to drag Paul to go see it as he rolled his eyes but I will say that when it was over he said, "That was actually really cool!" and for a Major in the military that means he had a blast! We walked around more and then Paul gave me a piggy back ride back to the hotel (you can only wear heels for so long).

Sadly Monday came...we went to breakfast and hung out for a while and then Paul took me to the airport and off to work he went, to catch up on things he "should have" done but I was a great distraction! Did I mention that the Vegas airport SUCKS...sorry to use such strong language but it does. Our weekend was over and we had 4 1/2 months left...But I came home to my amazing kids who had a BLAST!! with my sister and am grateful that God gave us the opportunity to be together. I am so blessed to have the most amazing man who makes my knees go weak even after almost 14 years of marriage!

HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE PICTURES :)

This one is my most favorite...Outside the Wynn...Love you all! xoxoxo

Wahwahwah (Think Charlie Brown)

2009-07-14T08:54:00.005-06:00

Hello out there!

It's me Alison....Can you hear me?? Wahwahwahwahwah (think Charlie Brown)

Don't turn your back to me!...Wahwahwahwahwah

I know I know I have been gone for a long time...Wahwah

Yes that is is an understatement! I know people want me to blog...Andrea (Tucson/Guard :)...Sometimes life gets crazy....Wahwahwah

I hear you NO excuses!! Yes I promise to blog more often....Wahwahwah

Yes I know I said that last time but my pictures are getting full and they stories need to be heard...PLUS GREAT NEWS!!

PAUL IS BACK! WOOHOO!! (not wahwahwah)

More to come....Wahwahwah...Yes I know I said that last time so I guess you'll have to check back to see if it's true. xoxoxo

Bring on the Snow!!

2009-04-18T20:16:00.009-06:00

A couple of weeks ago the weather people (better known as a Meteorologist) said that Denver was going to get a huge snow storm so the entire city shut down in preperation. No snow just some flurries and rain...well on Thursday they said another storm was coming and that it would either be rain or snow. WELL they were right this time and get to keep their jobs....It started snowing Thurs. night and we woke up with a nice covering then on Friday it kept snowing, then it sleeted a little, then it snowed, and snowed some more. This morning we woke up and it never stopped and we had a foot and it was coming on strong!
Did I mention that Grammy & Papa came into town on Thursday from Tucson! We have had a big week planned while they were here! We had Jared's baseball tournament (minimum of three games), and Drew's benefit show of The Stinky Cheese Man. The games got cancelled first and then the benefit...SAD, SAD, SAD! The kids had no problem finding something to...electronics (WII, playstation, and their ipod's) kept them busy for a while and then the two younger ones decided the backyard looked fun! The oldest (man of the house) went out front and took care of business!
After Jared took care of the manly jobs he did what every man does best...back to CHILLIN'!

The youngin's decided that the trampoline in the backyard looked fun so they hung out in the snow for a while...they were sopping wet when they came inside but were all smiles!
Then the kids being Military brats get the brilliant idea to build forts and have a snowball fight! It was great and they take it very seriously...you will see from the salutes!
Drew...I love my OCD boy...perfect fort...snowballs lined up along the front inside (look carefully on the left)... Look at this cute girl...Wants to be like her brothers...here is her fort with all her snowballs on the right...And then my Jared who is taller than Gramma Jeanne! Doesn't give a flying flip about a fort he just makes snowballs to plummit his siblings with! Now before the war I have to remind Jared that the other two are smaller and this is not a baseball game! This kid can pitch (fast balls-really fast, curve balls, change up's and the list could go on) Here is a video of the war...keep an eye out for Jared's snowballs flying by (and remember this is him NOT throwing hard) FUNNY!

So now we had another day to hang out and relax...what should we do??? Hmmmmm??? What to do???? The kids are busy and having fun...Grammy and Papa are chillin'...what do I need to get done that has been neglected?? The kids closets? No fun.....then the light bulb flashes on....
Time for a glass of wine and Day 3 of the Disney Cruise! How often do you have a whole day? It's like the Breakfast Club...I love that movie....classic! Sidetracked...sorry...it doesn't take much...but really that was a great movie! (Such an 80's girl)

Nothing says snowy day like a glass of wine, a fire, and Day 3 of the Disney Cruise!

So grab a glass of wine, soda, coffee...and come on over

PS...We got 16.3 inches in Parker...the snow totals ranged from 15-22 inches!

Disney Cruise....Day 3

2009-04-18T15:30:00.014-06:00

When you think of happiness what do you think of? For me one word comes to mind TOGETHER! I am happiest when my family is together....making memories...together. The blessings God has given us in each other!

I love writing about the Disney Cruise because when I close my eyes I believe I am still there...I can taste the amazing food. YES, I am ALL about good food! I can feel the salt water and warm sun on my face, you can feel IT in the air...what can you feel? Quite simply put....Magic!

So what was in store for Day 3! This is what our personal navigator said

Date: December 1, 2008

Sunrise: 6:58am Set: 5:24pm

Day at Sea! (YEA!!)

Dinner Attire: Formal (YEA! Again I love Dressing Up!)

Drink of the Day: Bay Breeze (YUM!)

I LOVE AT SEA days! The cruise ship is like your own private island, you share with 1500 other people, but that is besides the point. People live on the ship...I could live on the ship....as long as we go to port a couple of times a month...life without a target...not so sure on that...I need my target!

Monday started off similar to the other morning...slept in...ordered room service.

Have I mentioned how much I love room service? Ponder it with me for a minute...you pick up the phone and someone answers with a "Good Morning it's a Magical Day outside today!" You then tell them all the yummy food you would enjoy and they say, "That will be right down to your room." Then 10 minutes later a gentleman in a suit knocks on your door and delivers gourmet pastries...fresh from the tree fruit (I swear they grow their pineapple on the ship), juice and coffee and lays out cloth napkins and silver to eat with! WHERE CAN I GET A PHONE LIKE THAT!! I want a phone like that in bedroom next to my bed where when I pick it up someone tells me it's going to be a magical day....even better I want a phone like that next to my bathtub so when the day has been long and I need a little "Mommy" time someone delievers me food. I think there is a peice of my Jesus's heaven that looks like thatand has the magical phone :)

Back to the day...we headed to the pool with the kids again and it was gorgeous outside! We hung out and had a fun time and then kicked the kiddos to their rooms (actually they might have kicked us to the curb and took off running to Ratatouille cooking school and who knows where Jared was off to) and Paul and I had choices...what to do?? One was Goofy's Fun Fitness Pool Party...FUN but NO so we walked hand in hand to our appointment! AHHHHH our appointment. The kind of appointment you get a little giddy about! A couples massage in a room with double doors, a veranda with lounge chairs, and the ocean as our backdrop...the world melted away and it was bliss. The thesaurus describes bliss as paradise, delight, harmony....YES all the above! Then off to the adults only pool for an hour maybe two....ahhh bliss!

Later that afternoon in my relaxed state it was time for some "girl/boy" time...As much as we love the grown up time...I look forward to the kid time just as much! Watch out lady...I am grown up timed out I want my critters! Paul picked up the boys and the "hung out" together. No pictures...I don't even if Paul knows what a camera is other than "honey...take pictures for me!" Us girls got dressed up and headed to our tea party. It wasn't just any normal tea party...it never is when the Mad Hatter and Alice are your hosts. Pictures speak louder than words....

It was now time to get dressed up for our formal dinner! YEA!! I love dressing up, Laney loves to dress up...my big boys HATE it! Drew on the other hand loves it! I think for him he is just in training for his future...you know the red carpet, Academy Awards, Tony's...just the usual for him :) Jared was a broken record..."I look like a MONKEY!" "Hey Mom...I look like a MONKEY with a tie on!" but they go along with it because they love me and IT'S the RULES!

Our theme for the night was the Golden Mickey's...yes Disney's Oscar night! It was so fun! The show was great! We celebrated the heritage of Walt Disney and loved the sensational stage performances of some of the most beloved Disney Songs!

This one is hard to tell but it is Tarzan and his gorillas

This was Mulan and Drew was out of his chair fighting right along with them...I am pretty sure he was born in the wrong century in the wrong country...but I am thankful God made him wait!
This was the Lion King selection! Awesome...sorry about the reverb Daddy!

Talent is not a problem to find with Disney!

Off to our Formal Dinner! Amazing! Awesome! Fantastic! This was just dessert!!

Another great day...Is day 3 really over?...no rewind where is that button! Dang it...I can't find that remote...You should never trust Paul with a remote...it's probably in the freezer next to the ice cream...Oh well, no remote! Memories made forever and cherished! (and there are still 4 more days and my wine glass is empty so I guess that ends Day 3)

What Happened???

2009-03-29T22:20:00.003-06:00

Did I fall in a black hole? Not really/somedays more than others
Did I get sucked into a vortex? Nope
Did I fall and now can't get up? No
Did my computer break? No....Rico is still good
Did they cut the internet lines? Heavens NO!! My world would stop!
Do I still read my favorite blog "The Pioneer Woman"? Yes
Did I start working a little from home as the Customer & Corporate Liason? Yep
Liason for who? For my kiddos theater group Audience of One (LOVE IT)
Did I just finish a big ole' fundraiser for our theater group? Yep
What kind of fundraiser? A chair-ity casino night
What is a chair-ity casino night? Good question...it was a blast!! We had blackjack and poker with professional dealers and real vegas chips...and of course bunco for the ladies...and a silent auction going at the same time...Don't worry there was no monetary value to the chips just fun for a great organization!

Are you having a conversation with yourself? YEP but I think I will end it now :) just one more? OK...just one more

Where have you been?

Well to say the least my best friend left for 6 months and life can being a little overwhelming. Now, I am not saying that I am full of despair or depressed it just happens that when Paul is called to leave us for a time life does take over being Mommy and Daddy to three amazing critters. It can definitely be time consuming and exhausting. BUT!! I am a military sweetie and that is what we do! We give our amazing husbands/wives over the the country because we believe in the foundations of what this country was built on. So if it's the least I can do to serve the country I love to lend out my husband than I am lonely but proud!

It has been crazy around here. It seems like there is not enough time in the day for loving on my critters and filling their love tanks, homeschooling, laundry, working a little, keeping up with the schedules of theater and baseball, laundry, a little fun, redecorating, laundry, and the one I dispise the most cleaning! AHHHH But I am going to rectify the last one...After talking to my hubby he was all for finding someone to come in and clean a couple of times a month...after all what better way to spend the seperation pay than to ease the load off mama. Did I mention the laundry? IT NEVER STOPS! Gracious...I know you all feel my pain so lets take a minute and shake off the tention I caused by mentioning it again...I know you all just thought about the load in the washer that is still wet and your in bed...My advice...Let it go!

Well I have come to realize that blogging really does give me joy and not to mention it keeps Paul in the loop so I am back. I am going to finish up the Disney Cruise....ahhhh...the Disney Cruise..............................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................whoops sorry!! I just went back in time their was a beach...a fruity drink of the day...my kids playing...sand in my toes...a good book....Paul asleep in the chair next to me..........................ahhhh.................................Back to reality and laundry...NO...NO...NO...no more laundry today there is always tomorrow.

Well my beloved friends I am back and will catch you up on all the Team Marien happenings in the next few weeks...
Tidbits to look forward too? How about more Disney Cruise (yes God gave me the gift of being detailed oriented and I haven't forgotten anything...I think...), Paul & all the excitement of Weapons School (what is weapons school??? All in good time my friends...all in good time...), the critters and their fun, events, funny sayings and stories, my trip to Vegas Ohlala, and spring break.

See you soon
xoxoxoxo

Disney Cruise...Day 2

2009-01-10T11:26:00.023-07:00

The next morning we awoke and realized that it was true! We really were on the cruise we had planned for so LONG! My kids are rockin'...since we were out till midnight the night before they slept in until about 10:00 (my kids are great sleepers). We ordered room service (awesome!) and took our time getting ready for the day. We were going to arrive in Key West at 12:00 and could go ashore about 12:30 after we cleared customs. The kids wanted to head to their clubs for the rest of the morning so Paul and I shed a tear and shipped them off and headed to the fourth deck but not before grabbing a morning drink of course. We had found this amazing deck with cusioned lounge chairs that was right next to the edge so you could just watch the water and feel the ocean breeze.

Paul and I sat with our chairs leaned back and read books. There was a strange happening on the disney cruise ship though. I don't know if it was the pixie dust, ocean breeze or what but I, Alison, who loves to read and has a hard time putting books down would fall asleep within a chapter or two. Now, I am soooo not complaining it was quite amazing to be sitting with your best friend watching God's creation pass you by! Paul roused me from my magical dozing and there we were coming into Key West. It was a beautiful day...This is the view from our 4th deck chairs...

This was our view of Key West as the ship came into port It was amazing to watch how they "parked" this gigantic boat.
This nice couple asked if we wanted them to take our picture...

The Paparazzi Mama would never say no to a picutre It was about lunch time and time to get the kiddos and head to one of the restaurants on the boat for lunch. We picked up Laney first and she filled us in on how she made Flubber in the science lab just like the movie and that they played the movie while they were making it. Drew went to an animation class and learned how to draw some character but informed us that it was not as easy as it looked. Good call Drew! Jared met us at lunch at the coordinated time and had been hanging out with his new "people". I can't remember all the kids names except one kid who wanted to be called Skittles! Funny...so Jared informed us that they had hung out in their room, went and got some food (fries and ice cream), then played some hoops, got more food and soda, hung out in the room some more, got more food, then played ping pong and more hoops and the he was "starving" and ready to eat some good lunch! GEESH...Growing 11 year old boys. We fed our starving children and headed off the boat to see what kind of shopping fun could be had in Key West. Here is a picture of the boat as we got off on the pier. Had to take two pictures to get the whole boat.
So we shopped and the kids liked looking in the stores for souveniors. The only thing they didn't like was having to follow mommy into the jewelery shops...I tried to explain that when your on cruises you like to buy cool jewelery. They totally didn't get it but I didnt' find anything uber cool in Key West anyway. We headed back to the boat after a few hours. We knew that we needed to be on the boat before sunset because that is when the crazy's head out in Key West and Paul and I didn't want to have to explain their eccentric life styles...we were on vacation after all. Once back on the ship we wanted to go to the pool with the kids. Drew was looking forward to chilling in the hot tub watching the big screen tv. We had fun at the Goofy pool...Daddy swam with the kiddos while mom lounged on the side. We jumped in the hot tub a few times and watched a discovery show about fish...not sharks...which I thought was a good call by the Disney people. After a little swimming Jared was done in the pool and on to bigger and better things with "skittles" I assume. He was off and running and I hollered out "be back in the room by 5:30" as he bolted down the hall and gave me the signature preteen "ok" wave as he blazed to the elevator to head to the room to change. We also had a fun visit with Goofy and his son Max. Here are pictures of the afternoon.

The view from the hot tub...After some fun in the sun we got a snack (they had so much awesome food all the time but I must say my favorite was the fresh fruit and pannani sandwiches..yum). It was time to head back to the room to get ready for the evening.

We got all dressed in our "cruise casual" clothes (which for Laney meant a Snow White dress)and headed to the Walt Disney Theatre for the big show. Tonight was Jason Bishop a big and upcoming illusionist. He was great and did some amazing illusions. But I must say they best part was when he sat down at a small table and had a camera right on his hands so you could see everything he did and be mystified:) At one point he asked the kids in the audience to grab a dollar from Mom or Dad if they had a painful experience happen to them. One kid said that he had been hit in the head with a basketball, another kid said that he fell off his bike and then of course there is my Drew with his hand raised high. The illusionist (lets call him Jason)calls on him and Drew proceeds to tell him that while he lived in Tucson he not only fell off his bike but landed on a cactus! Jason says he has been to Tucson and that those cactus hurt and Drew wins and to come up to the front. My Drew who is not shy is social settings blazes up and stage and his mommy is just thankful that the story was true and he didn't get on stage from false pretenses:) Jason and Drew banter back and forth and Drew has the whole room (1000 people or so) cracking up. Jason then changes Drew's dollar into a ten dollar bill. I have four short clips from my camera labeled part 1 through part 4. Sorry there are four but I wanted to keep them small but I would definitely recommend watching them all IN ORDER if you are the type of person who enjoys a good laugh!! It was Awesome!!! Everybody loves Drew!

Drew and Jason Bishop Part 1

Drew and Jason Bishop Part 2

Drew and Jason Bishop Part 3

Drew and Jason Bishop Part 4

After the show we headed to dinner but not before Delaney stopped and got a picture with Belle and Minnie!

Dinner was amazing again!! Once dessert was served Jared was off again to eat the ship out of their supply of ice cream and french fries and to tear up on the basketball court. We told him he had a curfew of 12:30. Can you believe that! Lucky 5th grader! Delaney went to her class and got to do Toy Story Boot Camp and crafts and Drew headed off and got to have a pizza and ice cream party. Tough life for them I know!

Paul and I headed off to Rockin Bar D for some fun of our own. We sat down and listened to Soul Drive and then they had the Physical Comedy of Jeff Civillico. This guy could juggle anything and he was hilarous. Then we did a dance off of one hit wonders. It was fun and Paul and I had a great time dancing the night away.

This was our nightly host David dressed up in his best 70's for one hit wonders night!

About midnight we remembered we had children. I guess it was a late night with a fun filled day. This is my tukered out Kindergartener!

Jared came in about midnight and we looked at our cute towel animals and called it a night! Tomorrow is a SEA DAY with lots of fun so check back soon. I promise I will post quicker. It was the whole holidays, Paul leaving for six months, and getting sick thing that made it difficult but that is another post for another day. Enjoy the towel animals....xoxoxoxo

Disney Cruise...IT'S FINALLY HERE!! DAY 1

2008-12-14T08:58:00.016-07:00

At some point I must have drifted back off to sleep because the phone rings and it is our wake up call. We of course have a back up wake up call in 15 minutes but there is no need the little hotel room is bursting with excitment. On our way home the night before from Sea World we stopped at a gas station and bought breakfast because who wants to waste time ordering breakfast when a big ship with large black ears awaits you. So we ate cereal and gathered up all the luggage and put our special Disney tags on and set them outside the door. A Disney "guy" as Laney called it would come pick up all our bags and they would go directly to our stateroom on the ship. We headed downstairs to check in. I of course was EXTREMELY anal about our paperwork. I had a copy of everyones birth certificate and our military id's and Paul had a copy of everyones birth certificate with our driver's licenses (wanted to have backups because everyone knows if one is going to be lost it will be moms and there I would be waving goodbye to my family from the terminal....No way not happening!!) I think I only made him check it about 15 times. But Paul was a trooper and never complained and would just check again. There was no way Mickey was leaving without Team Marien (and especially MOM...this was her drewam vacation too)! We checked in and headed to our bus. The kids were beyond excited and Delaney had already made a friend and they sat together on the bus :) It was about a 50 minute ride to the port and we go over a bridge and all the sudden there it is the "Disney Magic"! Everyone on the bus starts cheering. It was awesome! We went inside the terminal and we made it through check in (WHEW!!) and then it was time to wait. We got there about 10:30 and check in super quick (Disney knows what they are doing) and boarding was going to begin at 11:45. They had lots of tv's and cartoons running so the kids didn't mind and there was a big model of our ship. A friend came out to visit and Delaney got her very first picture! Then it was time! They began boarding by group number. It was going to be a full ship (3,000)...Even in November! We were group six and the kids were so excited to get on the ship not to mention we were all hungry. That cereal didn't really do the trick. Did they just say six...Drew yells from the tv area..."Come on mom it's our turn...Let's move it!" We made it! I never thought this day would come. We are on the ship and they herd everyone to two of the restaurants for lunch! It was of course an awesome buffet but the best part had to be seeing Jared's eyes. Food as far as you could see and 15 desserts to chose from. It was an eleven year old's "happy place!" We ate overlooking the water then headed out to check out the ship. They let us know that our rooms would be ready by 1:30 so we checked the ship out and here are a few of the pictures.This is the very top deck "10"...The whole ship was beautiful to say the least. Here are some picutres of the main lobby. The whole ship was decorated for Christmas! These are pictures of the rights side with the tree and staircase and the left with the staircase where the characters would visit all day long...
Here is a picture of the view...If you squint your eyes you can see the NASA launch pad (that was pretty cool....more pictures of the ship to come in the next posts...it would overwhelm you with awesomeness if I did it all at once :) )

We checked out the whole ship and made reservations for a couples massage and dinner in the adult exclusive "Palo" the ships five star restaurant. Then it was time to go to the staterooms. Yes, that was plural we had two...Kids were already heading up to the pool and we were of course one of those families. Here is our two staterooms (we had adjoining room which was awesome! The kids had their room and we had ours. Just a little info on the staterooms...First of all they were HUGE...For those of you who know cruise ships these are so big! The couch turns into a bottom bunk bed and if you look straight above the couch you will see a white metal outlined. That is the top bunk and each night while you are out they would set up the kids room with the bunk beds!! It was so great!
Here is the other side of the view. They had a ton of drawers and closet space and they had 20 or so hangers...so much better than the normal 2 you get. On the left of this picture you have a shower with a sink and then another seperate bathroom and of course the fruit plate which was a constant in our room for snacks...Yum!! Our luggage was due in the room by 4:30 so enough time to get ready for the night of fun ahead.
The pool was calling our name as was the 24 hour ice cream! There were 3 pools up top...The Mickey Pool was only 2 feet deep and for all kids....then there was the goofy pool (Drew's favorite) it had two jacuzzis, the rectangular pool and then a huge TV screen...then there was the adult only pool (one of my many happy places) but we will get to that later.

So now it is the time for the favorite part of the day. The safety brief and lifejackets! Drew did not want a picture of them looking like little bobble heads but it was not an option because I am mom and I am in charge...then he said "DO NOT put it on the blog"...again sorry buddy but I am in charge :0)

It was finally time for the ship to leave and the "Adventures Away" deck party...All I can say is Disney knows how to throw a party and everyone with in a five mile radius knew it. What you will see below is the goofy pool with a deck on it and all the people surrounding it! It was 45 minutes long and we danced and had so much fun. The movie clips are short and give you a little taste of the fun...so pause the music player and have a listen because it really brings "Disney" to life!!

Goodbye Florida...Hello Carribean!

Then we headed to our first big evening show which was the "All Aboard...Let the Magic Begin!" show. It was awesome and I didn't bring my camera...Sorry...But the evening shows were amazing in a huge theater. After the show we went to dinner. We had the second seating at 8:00. Our server was Beethoven from the Phillippines and his assistant was Walter from Chile...Jared loved that he could order anything he wanted and we didn't bat an eye. So Drew got shrimp and Jared got a huge steak and baked potato. Laney liked the kids menu and had mac and cheese (homemade of course) They were great and lots of fun...you will hear more each day as the kids love the experience of excellence (It could cost them more than college to feed them the foods they now "love"!) After dinner we went back to the room and the kids found towel animals and just LOVED them!! They looked forward to turn down everynight because what was better than towel animals, a clean room, and chocolate every night!

The kids were then begging to go to their clubs...Delaney was in the Oceaneers Club (5-7) and Drew was in the Oceaneers Club (8-10) and Jared was in Ocean Quest...now lets get one thing straight...we NEVER saw Jared! We gave him the freedom to go in and out of his club and hang out wherever he wanted on the ship (which was mostly at the food, his club room, and the basketball court...by the end of the trip he had a posse of 5 other kids and every once and a while we would get a glimpse of what we thought was our son pass us by...DON'T get us wrong we were not complaining :)...The first night they got to just hang out in their clubs and they would be in different spaces all over the ship...The first night Delaney was in the clubhouse which is what it says a huge room with Peter Pan's treehouse, more games and computers than you could ever imagine, and giant screen for movies. There were a ton of counselors and there was always crafts and games going on...Drew was in the Oceaneers lab which had a huge cooking/kitchen area another giant screen for movies, even more computers than Delaney's and every piece of technology you could imagine...We had pagers and the kids could page us any time they needed us...Didn't hear much out of them because there was too much fun going on! :) I will tell you about Jared's room in another post...I will let the kids describe their rooms

I know what your thinking...if your kids all went in the clubs at 9:30 what did you do?!? Oh I am so glad you asked!! They had a street (more like a hallway) called Beat Street and that is where the grown ups played while the kids were away. They had tons of adult things to do such as a piano bar, sports bar, and our personal favorite...where we spent every evening after dinner... Rockin' Bar D

This picture is of the band Soul Drive....To say they were awesome doesn't do them justice...They were so fun! They would play and then there was an activity. The first night was my favorite by far!! First we got couples together into groups...We were team 5 and there were four couples in our group (I think there were 13 groups total)...and we played a game called "Magic Quest." Basically a group scavenger hunt. It started out simple...first group to bring up their pager for their kids...First group to get a picture of DJ Mike...First person to bring up a Disney Cruise Line pen (he called us theives :) Then they took it up a notch and it got funny....The first group to have a woman wearing a man's socks and shoes....Two women from your group dirty dancing, best team wins...The first man to bring up a bra (this one was funny one of the ladies in our group just tore her bra off and handed it to Paul and he ran like the wind and beat out to other teams and was jumping up and down with a bra in his hand)...then it went to the first guy to come up here wearing a ladies shoes, bra, and purse then they had to do the catwalk...FUNNY!!! It was such a blast and our team WON!! So we got Disney Cruise Line hats that say WINNER on the front:) Then we played Match your Mate (just like the newlywed game). We had newlyweds, a crazy couple, and the couple in the room married the longest. It was so funny as you can imagaine and the players were so honest and the guys totally got in trouble!! We had a great time and enjoyed the other couples and from then on we all met in there at night and basically took the same seats. After a little more dancing and music it was time to pick up the kids and get some sleep because tomorrow was our first SEA DAY!!

To be continued...xoxoxo

We're back and reality is NO FUN!!

2008-12-07T21:51:00.003-07:00

Yes we are back to reality...and getting home was also an adventure but that is for later but I have officially decided that I am going to take my family and live on a Disney Cruise boat...Reality is NO FUN!! Like my mommy said, "That Peter Pan knew what he was talking about!" All I really want to do is blog all about our trip and relive each day and all the incredible memories but REALITY is my family is hungry and wants clean unders....They can be so demanding! So I need to go to the grocery store and do some laundry and it is time to decorate the house for my favorite holiday of the year! We ususally decorate the day after Thanksgiving but did I mention we were on a cruise :) Watch for more to come I will do each day we were gone and all the fun because no one wants to read a 10 page post at once so I will give tidbits...Oh yea my sweet friend Aubre who I have had since Jr. High gave me the best name for my computer....so as we speak I am typing away on "Rico".....xoxoxo

Sorry no posts on the cruise...It was $.75/per minute and with how long it takes to upload pictures and even to write I thought to myself.....hmmmm.....post on the blog or a massage...I choose a massage overlooking the ocean....oh come on now you know you would have too :)

Can't Sleep...What am I seven??

2008-11-29T04:54:00.003-07:00

All I can hear around me is the sound of deep breathing and the clicking of the keyboard! Really? I cannot sleep...I have that feeling in my stomache of that of a seven year old on Christmas Eve....You have to be kiddding me! I am so excited for everyone and me...who wouldn't be excited but geesh...Now to be fair it doesn't help that we are sleeping on beds the size of a large toddler but that is another post I suppose...Just thought I would share since I have nothing better to do....I guess I will go pluck my eyebrows...xoxoxo (sleepless in Florida)

Disney Cruise...HERE WE COME!! (Florida Part II)

2008-11-28T20:56:00.009-07:00

We are in Florida and don't leave for the cruise until Saturday...Hmmm...It's friday what should we do...SEA WORLD of course!!

Sea World is amazing and has an offer that is a "Thank you to our Troops" and offers for the whole family to get into Sea World for FREE...Yes, you read right...FREE...Team Marien was SO THERE!!

First things first...How do we get there? It is only 10 miles away not bad so we go talk to the concierge...It will be $45-$50 for a taxi (each way) plus tip but the hotel has a better deal...We can have a thier driver take us in the towncar and it is only $40 each way plus tip...Okay...But Alison is thrifty and goes back to the room and starts the research part on "Pablo" (the new computer) I ended up renting us a rental car (no tipping required) and got us there and back with tolls and parking for $57...You all know I love to toot my own horn but come on now that is good!!:) Pure Genius:)

Sea World was a blast and the pictures speak for themselves (with a comment or two from me of course:)

It is almost Christmas...even at Sea World in Florida in 76 degree weather

Mommy having fun with the "Take your own pictures" while waiting at the Dolphin Show
Yes, I am still having fun with the take your own picture thing...

Where are the boys you ask? Down in the Splash Zone of course...Mommy and Daddy liked it a little higher:)

Before the Dolphin Splash Zone picture
The Dolphin Show was awesome! They had a whole dream like theme and there were circus like divers doing all these tricks into the water and people flying everywhere and a whole Maccaw show with real birds flying right over our heads...hard to explain but very magical to watch...Entrancing!
Plus in my own personal opinion Dolphins are the coolest animal on earth...Totally my dream job to train dolphins...Look at them...Amazing!

This is Maccaw Lady...She flew...she is cool!After the Splash Zone...Not too bad...It's not like they are killer whales!

Speaking of Killer Whales...This is Mama Shamu and next you will see Mama and Baby Shamu
If you don't say awwwww...there is somethin' wrong with you :)

Now this is a Splash Zone!!

I won't bore you with hundreds of Shamu Pictures but I do want to tell you a little bit about the show...It was called "Believe"...They had a few tricks that they were doing with a male trainer then the screens came on with a young boy and a picture of him on a kayak and a killer whale next to him...The story goes that this boy always loved the ocean...He went out one day and a killer whale came up to his kayak and just rolled around in the water by him...From that day on he dreamed of working with killer whales and made a necklace out of wood that had the tail fins to always remind him to believe in himself and that his dreams could come true...Well, the trainer at the beginning of the show stood there and pulled out his necklace and they showed a picture of him as a boy and then now as a trainer!! Yes, I got misty eyed...It was a beautiful story and the wanted to pass it on and he picked a little girl out of the audience and asked her about her dream and she wanted to be a wildlife photographer...He told her to never give up her dreams and it would come true and he gave her a necklace to remember...again....misty eyed...Very cool and inspiring...Here he is as a boy and in the middle with the girl today
This is us messing around again while we waited for the Sea Lion Show...
This show had a pirate theme and was hilarious...

After this we were just waiting for it to get dark and go to the final show of the night which was called "Shamu's Christmas Miracle" As we waited we went to the dolphin petting area and Delaney was soooo funny. She makes the best dolphin noise. It is hard to see her in the video but definitely worth watching her call them to her:)

The night was almost over so we headed to the Christmas Miracles and it was so much fun. We sang Christmas carols as we waited...Hearing thousands of people sing is so cool...Then when the show started they actually talked about the real meaning of Christmas and the miracle of a baby...Shocking to say the least! It was beautiful and in the end they had this amazing lady come out and sing while the whales did tricks...Here is a picture and then a small video just to show you how lively it was...

We had an amazing time! And to think it is just the beginning! Well everyone...It is midnight and we have a fun filled day ahead...remember that big boat thing!! So, I am to tired to spell check so give me grace and I will be back soon with more pictures...Love you all...Shhhh...Do you hear that? It is the Carribean Beaches and a fruity drink callin' my name!!

Disney Cruise...HERE WE COME!! (Florida Part I - Thanksgiving)

2008-11-28T20:29:00.004-07:00

So about all the other posts...So don't have time to do those now...I will catch you all up later

For two years we saved and planned and as of Wednesday it all came true!! We are in Florida and getting ready to leave on our 7 day Disney Cruise to the Western Carribean tomorrow!! Pinch me....I am dreaming!

We arrived in Orlando late Wednesday night...The plane ride was fun and the kids had a blast and are old enough that they had their own row and Paul and I sat behind them...Score One for mom and Dad...

Driving to the Airport...See all that luggage (eight checked bags)

The Shuttle Ride from the Parking Lot

Drew told every and I mean EVERY person we saw that we were going on a Disney Cruise :)Airplane Fun!
Can't have too much airplane fun!

We checked into our Hotel the Hyatt Regancy and crashed for the night...All that excitment makes Team Marien tired...

Thanksgiving...What do we do...We call up our Uncle Joe (Gramma Jeanne's brother) and he drives 2 hours to come get us in Orlando...Drives us two hours to his house we put in a green bean casserole and then what???

THE BEACH OF COURSE! (Hello Gulf of Mexico...AHHHHH)

Jared and Uncle Joe doin' the "Man" Thing

Paul and Drew doin' the "Man" Thing

Laney doin' the "I am a cute girl...Can I help you find hermit crabs" thing...

Then we head back to Uncle Joe's pick up the green beans and head off to my cousin Ashley's house for Thanksgiving dinner and fun...Then Uncle Joe drove us back to Orlando (2 hours) and then drove himself back home (2 hours)...It was a great day and the kiddos had a blast hanging out...Thank you so much Uncle Joe and Ashley for including us in the fun...We had a great time:)

Did Alison fall off the Planet?? NOPE!!

2008-11-23T20:31:00.006-07:00

Okay...So you ask what ever happened to the post??? Did Alison have a surgery, another child we didn't know about, fall of the face of the planet??? NO WORSE!!! My computer flopped! Yes it died a slow and painful death...The battery could no longer hold a charge...Not the worst thing in the world you say just plug it in until you get a new battery...GREAT IDEA...except THEN the battery jack on the computer came loose and so I had to set the computer exact so it would even sense that it was plugged in and even turn on and if you tapped it wrong or breathed a little to hard it DIED!! So after trying to post a bazillion times and having the computer die instead of throwing it against wall which almost happened let me think....hmmm a bazillion times...Paul would always catch me mid throw and say "Don't throw it...breathe" I called a computer fixer upper! So new battery = $150.00 and to fix the jack thingy = $75 part and $200.00 labor...WHAT??? $425 That can't be right...Get the calculator out again...WHAT??? That is insane so I went and did what any sane person would do and bought a BRAND NEW COMPUTER!! A very pretty Blue one!! SEE... Say hello to Pablo (yes I named my computer for now Pablo unless you have a name for me...It is so much easier to ask Jared to go grab Pablo and he knows exactly what his crazy mama is talkin about) It is a new gateway BLUE (red wasn't on sale and Paul said no to pink in case him or the boys had to use it amoung the living people...whatever) laptop and after two weeks of waiting I finally got all my files transferred including my pictures...SHHHH LISTEN...Do you hear the cheering and fireworks!! I am one happy mama with a new computer...and can finally blog again...What?? Why didn't I use Paul's computer...Because he is completely obsessed with dirt bike blogs, Craigslist, and takes it to work everyday. His is a high tech fancy smancy top secret have to put in his id card with a chip...dumb intel sensitive Dell...I could keep going but I won't...so I was lucky to check my email and get on facebook once a week...and it was only when I was so desperate to use the computer I was willing to put up with the deep sigh and "How long are you going to be? Didn't we buy you a new computer?" YES you did the one that is not set up yet...HELLO!! So I am back with vengance and just in time for some exciting stuff so STAY TUNED!! XOXOXOXO

PS....Can you think of any good names??? Yes for the computer...or should we stay with Pablo...HMMMM

I'm Back!!

2008-10-30T18:08:00.002-06:00

Friends and Bloggers....I know, I know it has been sooooo long. We took a quick trip to Tucson to see family and hang out for a few days. There are so many people to see and "hang" out with it becomes more of race against the clock to see who we can fit in to see. We had a great time and I have been insanely busy since we got back. I have been coordinating a fundraiser for Drew and Laney's theater group Audience of One. We are raising money for scholarships and royalties for our next musical. So this is no small task and is taking all my extra time away, hence no blogging. We are planning 2, yes 2, Murder Mystery Dinners. "Till Death Do Us Part" is the name of the Mystery and it is a Mobster's daughters wedding!! SO FUN...But lots of work. We are looking at 80 people on two nights...so think with me...decorations, invites, registrations, confirmations, character sheets, caterers, drinks, cake, tax donations, going around and getting donations from local companies, and that is just the beginning of the long long list. So needless to say my blog has gone wayward but for good reasons. Our first dinner is this Sat so on Monday/Tues I will catch everyone up on Team Marien fun so check back! Love you all and pray for lots of guests and a great party! XOXOXO

Free Handbag Contest

2008-10-13T21:32:00.002-06:00

There is a brand new website that is starting up called Handbag Planet...They have really cool bags and for their opening day they are giving away one handbag every 24 hours...AWESOME!!...All you have to do is go to their website and submit your name no strings attached...Tell me if you win...Good Luck!

www.handbagplanet.com

A Whirlwind of Life!

2008-10-02T19:55:00.020-06:00

Life takes us by storm...We have been so busy but having so much fun!

The Kids: What are they up to?

Jared~Football, loving school, football, friends, football, great teacher, homework and did I mention FOOTBALL!! He is amazing and having a great year. There will be more football up tomorrow so come back and check and you will see how much fun Jared is having with amazing pictures of their awesome team...and if you think this is 11 year old pop warner football you are so wrong!! This is super competitive club football! Definitely worth checking back for...with lots of details

Drew~Finally started his Theater Group! He is beyond thrilled! "Audience of One" is the name of our program and our tag line is "Acting as One for an Audience of One" LOVE IT!! It is so amazing and we are so blessed to be a part of this theater group...Drew auditioned for our Winter Show, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever"...Who remembers this book...This book is actually part of our family Christmas traditions and we read it every year. If you have not read this book it is a MUST read...I have loved it forever and my kids love it to...Here is just a little bit to give you an idea...

The Herman's were the worst kids in the whole history of the world! They lied, they stole, they smoked cigars, even the GIRLS! And they took the name of the Lord in vain. They even set fire to Fred Shoemaker's broken down old tool house. But, everything changed when they decided they wanted to be a part of OUR churches Christmas Pageant!

Great story...so Drew got the part of Charlie Bradley who is the brother of the girl who is telling the story (the narrator more or less)....He is super excited and we cannot wait for the show! The other parts of Drew's life are doing well...He is enjoying school (answer to prayer) and loves his teacher (another answer to prayer...God is Good!) He is also getting ready for 4 birthday parties in the next week and a half...yes that is not good news for mommy's wallet...but good for Drew's social life...So all in all things are looking good in Drew's life!

Delaney~A true kindergarten girl from head to toe and growing up so fast...BUT she still wants mommy to walk her up to school (misty eyes)...She still wants her mommy close...I figure I have another couple years:) Delaney also wanted to be a part of Audience of One! They have opened classes called "Pee Wee's" YES HOW CUTE IS THAT!! They are doing there own little production called "An Original Christmas" where they are looking for the King...How will he come...One scene has him coming as Elvis (FUNNY) Picture with me a 6 year old dressed as Elvis saying, "I'm the King" Delaney had to audition too and she got right up and sang her heart out to Jingle Bells...It was such a sweet sound (when she redid it for us later because parents aren't allow in of course) Delaney was cast as an ANGEL! How perfect is that! On other notes Little is doing great and talks about her best friend in school Megan all the time and don't forget Kami, Sidney, and others I can't name but Megan is #1 in her book and according to Megan's Mom all she ever hears about is Delaney so I think the friendship is mutual! I am loving my morning with Little just doing our thing at home and having lunch together and a date out each week...I remind myself to cherish this time with her because before I know it she will be a first grader(Misty eyes again)...

Paul~I am pretty sure I have a husband...I see a flicker of him every now and then...Once upon a dream I catch a glimpse of him or maybe his computer as I sleep....no but really that man is crazy busy! I haven't mentioned it on the blog yet but here we go Paul is headed to Weapons School...What is that and what does that mean??? You would think at 35 he would be done with school but alas for us service members it is an ongoing education. For us it means Daddy heading to Nellis AFB for 6 months and not being home, nobody ever likes that but we are so proud of what our Daddy does...for him it is a true honor and testament to who he is in his career...They only chose one guard officer in Intel a year and Paul was selected on his second application...It is a big deal and we are super proud of him!! This is a very intense program so he will be working around 16 hours a day 6 days a week...So, needless to say he is busy getting prepared along with all the monthly drills he plans etc...

ME~Well as you all know I am a stay at home mama and as everyone knows all we do is sit at home and eat bon bons and watch Oprah...I am sorry if I ruin your perception but that is SOOOO not me...Life has been crazy with being my kiddos taxi and being their mom and Paul's wife when I see him:)...on top of that I am helping with the Girl's Ministry at our church. I am in charge of the Purity retreats that are coming up and I booked all the retreats with a hotel and did all the negotiating for our food, etc and I am helping my amazing friend Johanna (Girls Ministry Director) with the curriculum and all the little hiccups that come with it. What is a purity retreat...well it really is what is sounds we are taking XP girls (5th and 6th graders) and teaching what modesty is and what the bible says about it and how it really affects those "boys"...and we are also taking middle and high school girls and talking to them about sex...yes sex I spelled it right...about how amazing it can be and how God made us this way and has a plan for each of us...The amazing thing I love about this is that it is not lecturing it is FUN FUN FUN and games and teaching not preaching!! It will be great but keeping me busy and to top it off I am helping with Drew's Audience of One, which I love!! I am working on fund raising for scholarships, royalty fees and future staff....Did I mention I LOVE IT and I love being able to work with my friend Christine and "having" to go to lunch and work the details :):) We are planning a murder mystery dinner party and I cannot wait...Talk about serious FUN!! It is going to be a Mobster's daughters wedding reception and the cheesier the better:):) I am the crazy mother of the groom and wedding planner...picture me and a headset!! AWESOME!! I just feel so blessed that I am with my amazing family and can do these two wonderful ministries on the side....so needless to say I start drooling the minute I lay my head down on the pillow at 9:00 (seriously getting old).

We went to back to school night at the kids school to talk about what each one is doing in class and give us an "insiders" look to their day. I took some pictures of the kids artwork (Jared and Drew). Laney didn't have artwork up they had a video with pictures but couldn't get that on the blog so here are a couple of cute pictures of her.

Drew's "ISH" Picture

Jared's Self Portrait

Thought I would add a few pictures of our last day of summer! We went to Mr. Bigg's which is a super fun place...as you can see:)

A little lazer tag...MY FAVORITE!! They also have a room full of squishy balls and air shooters and to top it off it is three stories high...

They have an area Laney loved called "Little Big Town" and it a miniature town and as you can see they dress up was a hit! After that the boys rode the Octopus Ride...Did Mama ride? No throwing up is one of my least favorite activities....

Indy Cars where you have to be fitted for helmets...cool!

We had a great time and it was a great way to end the summer....love you all!!

First Day of School

2008-09-13T10:44:00.007-06:00

We made it through the first week of school. The kids are going to a brand new school and boy oh boy is it nice. They have smart touch screens, Mac computers in every class, and the classrooms are nice and big!

Jared has Mr. Phillips as a teacher and is just psyched to have a male teacher two years in a row. He really loved Mr. Deck last year and it is looking like he is going to love Mr Phillips and 5th grade too.

Drew had a rough year last year and was really crushed by his teacher. We prayed so hard for an amazing teacher this year that could love him for him and build him back up or Mama was going to homeschool him. Well...his teacher is awesome. Her name is Ms. Hoover and she has been so amazing with Drew this first week. For those of you who don't know Drew is severely dyslexic and has struggled but that is another post all together. Drew loves her and continues to tell us that, "...She loves EVERYONE in the WHOLE class no matter what...she calls all of us her friends..." God is good and we are continuing to pray for our Drew and feel blessed that God chose Ms. Hoover for us she is so sensitive to Drew and sincere. We can't wait to see how the year goes. Drew also had an amazing learning specialist last year Tammy and again God is Good....Tammy is at the new school and is going to work with Drew again. We LOVE Tammy and she really loves Drew.

Delaney....What can I say but Kindergarten (half day...afternoon class...thank goodness because I know I am not ready for her to go all day and we enjoy our mornings together) Again, God blessed us with an amazing teacher that many of my friends kiddos have had and loved her. Mrs. Marcheze...Delaney loves her and looks forward to school everyday. She is so grown up with her backpack on when she blows me a kiss and then heads into class. Ahhhhh...

started....The kids are all in Gold Rush t-shirts because the school handed them out and asked everyone to wear them the first day so that could take a school picture since it was the schools first day....You will also notice that Laney is not in the boys picture because she had 4 hoursHere are pictures of the kids first day and another we took of all of them before school before she went....Grammy and Papa were visiting with us for the week and were able to be here for the kids first day...the kids loved being able to share it with them! There is a great picture with Papa but I think the one with Grammy is on her camera...I will try to get it and put it in...Enjoy the pictures xoxoxo

Come on now boys....I know summer is over but school will be fun!

Drew 3rd Grade / Jared 5th Grade

Jared and Drew with Papa...We love you Papa!!Look how big she is...It feels like she was just learning to crawl...Our last first day of Kindergarten picture...Hmmmph
Waiting for the teacher with "the girls"...no boys to be found
they were climbing the dirt mounds
girls will be girls and boys will be boys :)
Delaney is first in line with her teacher Mrs. MarchezePictures in front of the school

Durango the End of the Saga!

2008-09-08T18:52:00.009-06:00

I ended the last Durango post with Gramma Jeanne on the couch after hurting her knee saying, "I just pulled the ligaments...It will be okay!" Next morning we get up and I ask her how are you doing and she tells me she is good and it is even not bruised. But she can't put weight on it so she asks if I will lotion her up...No problem! Lotioning and oiling, lotioning and oiling (sorry got lost in my head that was a line from The Sandlot...focus Alison) As I am getting close to the knee and I see that is COMPLETELY bruised...not bruised...crazy woman...TOTALLY bruised. I call my Dad in again and tattle on her again and that is when it is time to take her into an urgent care...Sounds good so Paul and I took the kiddos to the pool. We were hoping to dirt bike again but that was looking grim so I started thinking...Hmmmm...what do I love to do in Durango...RIVER RAFTING!!! The kids were on board (i'm so funny get it on board...never mind) So we scheduled our trip and headed into Durango.

What about Gramma Jeanne you ask...okay so the Dr. could not see any breaks on the X-Ray but since she is old...what sorry I meant a young blossoming flower...they wanted to do an MRI to make sure they didn't miss anything. And, sure enough they did and she had a perfect T break on her leg right in the tibia (for those less knowledgeable about the bones it is the bone that is from the ankle to the knee and her break was above her shin). They finished up with her and put a splint on her, gave her a few drugs, and told her to see her doctor when she got home. From that moment on my Daddy officially named her...

TINY TIM
"GOD BLESS US...EVERYONE"

In the meantime we headed to the river rafting place and Mom and Dad got done just in time to meet us there and take a few pictures for us...All the kids were super excited and we had a whole boat to ourselves...AWESOME!!!

The Picture We Purchased....LOVE IT! Look at all those Studs...

Getting ready to go...in case you had trouble putting that together :)

Gramma Jeanne straight from the ER...Still looking good woman!

Drew showing everyone what to do if you fall out...or what not to do...not to sure :)

As you can see we had a great time rafting and the kids can't wait to do it again! We were getting ready to leave the next morning but really wanted to try and get one more ride in so we decided to wake up at O' Dawn Thirty to ride again...Drew and Gramma Jeanne stayed home. It was gorgeous outside here are some pictures my Daddy took of us and the last one has been photo shopped by my Dad see if you can pick out the thing in the picture that doesn't belong:)

Did you guess...Yes it was Gramma Jeanne...dirt biking is a definite no no on crutches. But we all know Gramma Jeanne hates to miss out on anything...but Drew on the other hand is happy to miss things for his sleep. Then we left afterwards and headed back to Denver. On our way we found a waterfall and stopped with the kiddos so these are the last pictures of the trip. It was super fun and we loved every minute...Thanks Gramma Jeanne and Poppies you are awesome!! We had a blast! Nothing better than a weekend of memories! (I really like explanation points can you tell??)XOXOXOXOXOXO

My Faithful Blog Readers...

2008-09-07T22:48:00.002-06:00

Hello to all my faithful Team Marien readers. I am so sorry I have not updated. We have been on a mini getaway again, came home, had friends visit, goal setting conferences for school, last day of summer fun, Grammy and Papa came to visit, first day of school, and more fun!! It is no excuse but my days have been full and by the time I hit my bed and open my computer and wait for it to connect to the wireless internet (20 seconds), I am already drooling on my pillow :) HOWEVER; I have so much to talk about such as, Durango Part III, Steamboat Springs, Fun with our 24 hours with friends Kristin & David, the kids new school, last day of summer fun, Grammy and Papa visiting, first day of school for the big boys, and Laney's first day of Kindergarten to say the least. So stay tuned and Durango III will be up tomorrow and everything else to follow quickly after because I have 3 hours a day with no children. Yes, I could clean, grocery shop, and a million other mama bear outings but why would I when I can blog? So check back, grab a coffee or soda (Gramma Jeanne) and enjoy the ride....See you tomorrow....xoxoxo

Durango Part II

2008-08-29T08:21:00.013-06:00

The second day we were in Durango the Thigpen family left that morning and headed back to the Springs. We kissed all our babies and they were on their way. The plan had been to ride dirt bikes all day but Paul's dirt bike had been having issues. They issues were big enough that it had to go into town and see the dirt bike Dr. My Dad and Paul went into town as soon as they opened and Mom, the kids and I hung back to wait to see how long it was going to take. They called and it was going to be a few hours so we decided to join them in Durango and do our hanging out on Mainstreet day. We just walked around, of course hit the toy shop and train depot, had lunch and
then some ice cream. It was a perfect day outside. Paul's Dr. finished the bike and we headed back home where we then packed up all the bikes and drove to base of a great trail. We rode to the halfway point with no issues's (whew that is good when you have 6 machines one is always going to be causing problems). Delaney rode with her Gramma Jeanne. Here are some pictures of us half way up!!

Delaney with her Poppies!
She likes to go fast so she hopped on Poppies bike
for the second half of the ride!

We had a few issues with Drew's quad on the second half of the ride. It always has to be someones bike...Drama, Drama, Drama...It wasn't liking the altitude and we blamed China. Why China? Well they did make the bike and they don't think about how high the mountains go in Colorado. We got to the top and the views were amazing. More pictures? Okay if you insist!!

Me, Mommy and Little!!

What is that? Is it a bird? A plane? No it's Paul
bringing up the back....wait what is that there
are feet hanging behind yours...yep Drew's quad
gave up (Darn those Chinese bikes)
and he came up with his Daddy!!
Gramma Jeanne teaches Jared how to work the BIG QUAD!Little is making sure her lungs still work in this altitudeMy Favorite Picture
Seriously....Could they be any cuter!!

It was starting to get dark so we knew we needed to head down....and pick up Drew's quad on the way. Off we went and we come up to Drew's quad and Paul gets it to run again...What a stud (he could work in China). Drew rode with Gramma Jeanne and while they are working on Drew's quad I look over at Mama bear and she is looking a little grim. "What's up Mom?" "I'm fine. I just was shifting up there and missed the peg and my foot hit the wheel and my whole leg twisted and my knee hurts." As she is rubbing her leg..."Are you okay do you need to ride with someone?" "No it just hurts...as long as I put pressure on it I'll make it down." She is still rubbing. "Did you tell Daddy?" "No, I'll tell him when were down..." I look at her still rubbing..."Daddy! Mom hurt her leg!" (She looks at me like Tattle Tail....Hey now it's okay to tell if someone is hurt remember!!) She proceeds to tell Dad and she thinks she just stretched the muscles....Hmmm we will see about that...Drama...Drama...Drama...We head down the mountain and we stop at the half way point and oh no...Drew's quad is soooooo done!! We leave it and keep heading down the mountain...As we are going down there are a ton of cows just all over. I enjoyed the view and my occasional mooing to them and we come around another corner and there is a big ole' group of cows with a calf in the middle. Now this is what I saw...It was a gray fluffy animal in front of them...I have seen a lot of coyote in my day and it certainly wasn't that. That is a WOLF!! It had it's tongue hanging out of the side of it's mouth and had backed up the cows into what I would refer to as a huddle!! NO WAY...It's like Wild Kingdom right in front of me....then I start thinking to my self...Self I say, "You are amazing...Please don't chase us...Stay with the cows....We are cute people and all the gear we are wearing is expensive and we would not look good chewed up...don't chase us...don't chase us..." and he didn't. He could have cared less about us! So we get down to the bottom we all take our helmets off and I said, "Did you see the wolf?" Then my daddy...yes my precious daddy crushed me. "It was not a WOLF...it was a dog...there are no blonde wolves." I stomp my foot and say, "It was silver not blonde...it was SO a wolf!!" Paul thought it was a wolf too and then my own baby...the one I was in labor with for 20 hours!!! Jared (who is 11 and thinks he is so smart) says, "It had a red collar on!" HMMMPH....It was a wolf....I know it was a wolf and in my memories (and Paul's because he thought it was a wolf too...and not because he has to say that because of the vow things...) it will ALWAYS be a wolf!! If I hadn't been so worried about it chewing me like a rib bone I would have stopped to be my typical self (the paparazzi) and take pictures then I could prove them wrong but it will just have to live in my memory AS A WOLF PEOPLE!!

Paul, Jared, and Poppies hop in the Suburban (after Poppies carries Gramma Jeanne to the 4-runner) and go back up the hill to collect Drew's quad in the dark and I take the rest of the gang back to the cabin. As the boys get up to Drew's quad and get ready to unlock the trailer to throw that Chinese wonder in...My dad says an inappropriate word for the blog and they then realize they gave me the keys and it included the trailer keys. Ummm it's dark, cold, and there are wolves up here. What are the men to do? They squished and repacked the suburban and put that quad in my car....yes the gas smelling broken quad on my seats....oh they make me tired. They couldn't call because there is no service in the mountains. And I personally know that they were nervous about wolves so that is why they put that smelly quad in my car so they could get down the hill before they were pushed into a huddle around Jared by a WOLF!! Back to us at the cabin...You know the ones that have all the keys...I carry Gramma Jeanne in....good thing she is a stick and doesn't eat much more than her bowl of soup (see soup nazi story from July posts). We all get jammies on and get Gramma Jeanne comfortable on the couch with some ice. The boys all come back, no WOLF bites, and we watch some more olympics and end the night. I will finish off our last day in Part III. XOXOXO

Durango FINALLY! Part I

2008-08-28T10:38:00.043-06:00

I know it has taken me way to long but I am so ready to tell you all about our awesome trip, but it will have to come in two parts. You all know me I have a lot to say. :) We packed up the kids, the suburban, our trailer holding 3 dirt bikes and a quad and we set out sights to the other side of Colorado. It was pouring rain when we left but we knew the majority of the storm was on the front range (code for Denver). The thrifty mom in me has to mentioned that we stopped at Chick Fila on the way for lunch and we asked for a military discount and our $30 order became $15....Half off Score!! Moving on so the drive was very pretty through the mountains and we came in and out of little storms but pretty uneventful until about half way.

The boys were sleeping and Laney had on her "Ipod"

I had just laid my head down on my pillow. I realized that we forgot to pray for our trip when we got in the car so in my little head I prayed for our trip and safety while we travel. Literally, two minutes later all of the sudden I feel the wheels slip and hail on the windshield. Did I mention we were pulling a trailer with all our bikes. I look up and there is a ton of ice on the ground and we are sliding around and are in the oncoming lane. My eyes are huge and Paul is very slowly inching the wheel to the right so not to over correct to try and get the wheels to catch again. I am of no help going..."there's a car coming towards us...a car...a car....go over...go over...go over..." like he wasn't trying...The wheels finally grip and we go back on to our side in the nick of time and on the side of the road a tahoe is flipped over...he obviously over corrected. Did I mention again we had a trailer. Paul is such a stud...The ice was for about 300 feet...YES THAT IS IT...300 feet...and then sunshine.

Said that prayer in the nick of time. God is Good to US!! So we press through some strange weather. Sun, clouds, sun, rain, foggy, sun, storm to the left....Crazy here are some pics from the car. We finally made it to the cabin, a little later than we hoped but we got there. Mom, Dad, Erin, Bryan and her boys were all waiting and it was fun to be together. Jared took the kids to the park and we had smore's that night. Doesn't get much better than that. We all hung out watched some Micheal Phellps in the Olympics. The next day my Mom and Dad (they are awesome) rented a pontoon boat and we hit the lake for some exploring and a picnic. It was super fun, for everyone but Landon (he hated his life jacket...do you blame him) Here are some pictures of our adventures on the water.

Laney and Logan having fun in the pack n play!

The boys take a minute to enjoy the scenery :)
Lookin' Good J-RED!Drew's doing a little mind fishing?

Paul and I having a little fun!!

I WIN!!

Meatloaf (aka Landon)...Yep he is still not happy...
but to bad for him it doesn't bother a Daddy with 3 kiddos so scream away:0)

Blow that whistle Gramma Jeanne and we will all come
a runnin'...well at least that's what were suppose to do...
what's so funny Poppies? Do you know something we don't?

The kids all had fun taking
taking turns driving!

Look at us sisters! Where you goin' Meatloaf? Cute bumper J-Red....
Don't you AHHH MOM Me!!

That's a fake smile Poppies...Next time say, "Cheeese!"

Delaney and Loggies attack Poppies!

Drew hangin' out with the life jackets

But where are more pictures of Gramma Jeanne...She was hiding under a blanket cause she was COLD!! Poor Gramma Jeanne...By the time we were were done all the little kiddos had joined her. No pictures, but I am sure you can pict ure it.It was a super fun ride and we all had a great time. Thanks Poppies and Gramma Jeanne...You rock! Then we napped. I love naps. Part II of the trip to come tomorrow.XOXOX

We had a Tornado YES a TORNADO!!

2008-08-26T08:27:00.011-06:00

Denver...what is Denver known for...Bronco's, The Rockies, the Rocky Mountains....but a Tornado...NO WAY GET REAL....Travel back with me to Sunday evening...We just got to Jared's third tournament game for the weekend and the clouds start up and it is just about time for them to get on the field. Then it starts to rain and there is some lighting so they send everyone to their cars. We sit in our cars for the delay of game and the rain starts to lighten up so everyone heads back out and gets under a gazebo. (I personally would call it a ramada but I have come to realize unless you are from Tucson people have NO IDEA what a ramada is other than a hotel :) The clouds are all swirly then we all see this small little funnel cloud come out of the sky. Very cool! We are all oooohhhing and ahhhhing because it is small and the clouds are really high...Definitely to high for it to touch the ground. Because of the funnel cloud, which by the way will never touch down because it is to high in the clouds, the referee's call the game and again we all head back to our cars. As everyone is getting to their cars out of no where from the ground the bottom forms a tornado and meets the top in the middle. NO WAY!!!! AWESOME!!! Wait that tornado looks like it is just a couple miles away. (We are in Castle Rock which is the suburb that is 15 minutes south of Parker which is the suburb we live in) Have I mentioned my two little ones Drew and Laney are at my nieces house in Parker because they were tired of the tournament and Jordyn said she would babysit! HMMM...that Tornado is heading staight for Parker...We have to go...NOW! After a phone call to Jordyn who says, "WHAT??" and runs outside to look then I in my very calm Auntie voice say, "Honey...Would you please get all the kids in the basement and stay there until I call you and tell you all is good. Thanks pumpkin." They only live about 3 minutes from our house. Now some of you will know that there is a short cut from Castle Rock to Parker on the back road Crowfoot Valley that basically drops off at my nieces house and then our house. We are flying down I-25 ready to get off on Founders to take the short cut. It is now HAILING yes HAILING ping pong size to golf ball size hail on my car. And, hmmmm that tornado looks like it is right on the back road heading towards Parker. Self I say, "That's not good" so we blast off and take the longer way on the freeway home to Parker. To finish off the story the Tornado headed straight towards Parker and the area we live and came within about a 1/2 mile. There was no damage done in Parker except to children's psyche...but later we found out that there were two tornado's that touched down in our area and one more north. CRAZY!!!! Enjoy the pictures!

****Disclaimer****
No Children or Animals Were Harmed In Filming of This Tornado

This is the little funnel cloud that definitely

will not turn into a tornado...Wrong!

The next two pictures are views from the
football field in Castle Rock

The next two pictures are the tornado
as we saw it at Jordyn's my neice's.
Yes, the kids were safe in the basement:)

The next 2 are pictures of the tornado next to Horse Creek
on Hess which is a subdivision that is one minute from our
house. About 3 streets away. About 2 minutes from Jordyn's.
(The two pictures below were taken by a cameraman we
saw on Hess next to our house who submitted them to our
news where I copied them. I didn't have
time to get out the telephoto lens :) )

This is a view from my girlfriend Jodie's
house. She lives in Horse Creek.

This is a picture my NEXT DOOR neighbor Jen took!After the tornado the end of the storm. Picture
was taken at Jordyn's house.

XOXOXOXO I promise the Durango post is next :)

Good Morning!

2008-08-24T08:12:00.002-06:00

Good Morning all my peeps!! I am so sorry I have not had a chance to put up our Durango trip. It was so fun but the pictures are even better. I have been crazy around here. Paul has Guard drill so I have barely seen him since we got back, I have been madly searching the internet and on the phone with hotels to book our four purity retreats for our Girls Ministry Retreats at our church (60 people with catering not easy but love it) and Jared is in this huge football tournament. Love the tournament but doesn't leave me much time for my favorite new pastime blogging. I will start writing about it tonight and then should have it up by tomorrow. Now am I off two a 11:00 game then a 4:30 game and lunch in between. Love you all so check back tomorrow. XOXOXOXO

Durango Here We Come!

2008-08-16T08:30:00.007-06:00

We are off!! We are headed to Durango, Co. I vacationed here growing up and have so many great memories of the Pine River Lodge. Some memories are from being really little and playing with my sister on the playground with the owners daughter. Another, from being older and having my friend Aubre with me and gallivanting all over the place like we owned it...chasing boys of course. I remember being in highschool and call the boyfriends on the pay phone telling him how much I missed him and how lame this place was with no mall. (The only lame thing now looking back as a mother was how lame I acted geeesh!!Sorry Mom and Dad!) Paul has never been to Durango. Yes, out of almost 13 years of marriage he ahs never gotten to see our special vacation spot. Our boys got to go 5 years ago. My parents came down to Texas when our precious Delaney was born and scooped up the boys and took them with them to Durango for a Gramma Jeanne, Poppies, and BOYS ONLY vacation. They had a blast while I (and my sister who came to help me) dealt with a uterine infection, a the most precious girl with jaundice, oh yea did I mention that we were moving from Texas back to Tucson. I had to go back into the hospital for antibiotics, Erin stayed out our house while the movers took everything, Paul graduated from intelligence school, we moved into temporary housing on base (the size of a shoe box), and Little Laney had to wear a billy light and she looked like the sweetest little gloworm! Then when Laney girl was 11 days old we moved back to Tucson (yes, nursing the whole car ride home every 3 hours...fun for Erin :) ) Did I mention I have the most amazing sister!! Back to today...we are leaving in 2 hours (after Jared's required football weigh in) and everyone is super excited! We are taking all our dirt bikes so it will be fun packed. Keep checking back for updates on the trip and pictures. Because yes the have internet at the cabins...but no cell phone service...go figure! Okay so I cannot help putting in a few pictures of my little girl since the memories are flooding my head :) xoxoxoxo
Look at those excited Gramma's and
Boys...The Papa's must be pacing!

"We LOVE Her!"

That's our New Girl

Mama's Little Gloworm!

Mom's 33rd Birthday / It Was An Exciting One!!

2008-08-13T21:10:00.007-06:00

I am glad to tell you that I am still officially in my early 30's! This will be my last year then I will follow Paul into my Mid 30's...I wonder if I stopped coloring my hair if I would have as much gray as Paul :)

I had a great day! Paul was TDY (Military talk for out of town) in Alabama but made sure he was back for my birthday today. He got in really late last night 1:00ish and then left this morning at 5:45 so suffice to say I didn't get to see him but I knew he was here and that was nice. Paul was so careful to be home because it always seems he is gone on my birthday so that was super sweet. But more about Paul and my birthdays later...back to today.

This morning was filled with phone calls from my mommy, daddy, and sister. I have the most amazing family and how many people say that their family is truly more than family and are my closest friends. I am so blessed and there will be more birthday fun with family when we go to Durango for a vacation with all of us. But, another one of the most special friends that God has blessed me with in my life, Jodie, took me out to lunch today. There are no words to express how much she means to me. We have only known each other for 2 years but it feels as though we have known each other our whole lives. I know that no matter what Jodie would be there for our family and we would do the same for hers. I just adore her, and we finally got some quality time just the two of us. We went to lunch and talked and talked and it was so fun to be with her. Then we took off and got pedicures...LOVED IT!!! There is nothing better than having a pedicure on your birthday. Then she treated me to a Starbucks to close out or time together. The time together was so fun and Jodie is such a blessing to me in more ways than I could ever put into words.

Daddy came home from work and it was the first time I got to see him :) My husband is so amazing and he knows me as well as he knows himself. He got me the perfect most thoughtful gifts. My sweet Paul went antique shopping in Alabama just for me because he knows that the shops in the South are Awesome! Paul found the most amazing tray that is from New England that is called a knife tray. It is so cool! It is about 120 years old and is gorgeous! He also found a pewter cup that is also 120 years old from New England that they use to use as a measuring cup. And, yes I am not done he found 3 really cool decorative books that are unique because they are from early American authors in a time where European authors dominated. Seriously, how amazing is my hubby!! He also wanted to take me out to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner, Maggiano's. Italian food yum!!

There is a pause here in my writing because the doorbell just rang but I will get to that in a minute! Trust me that is the end of my day you won't want to miss it so read on!!!!!!!

Dinner was great and at one point Laney had to go to the bathroom so off we went. My only mistake at that point was leaving my new blackberry in the care of Paul. We come back and Paul said, "Your sister called but I couldn't get to it" This my friends is the first of his omission. So I grab my phone and dial my sister but before I could I said, "Yuck there is oil on the back of my phone." My sweet hubby looks at me and says oh sorry I must have had oil on my fingers. All the while he has his guilty Paul smirk on his face. I look at him and wipe my phone off. I call my sister and it sounds a little funny and it seems like my phone is muted. I get off the phone and I look and there is oil on my phone again. I look at Paul and he looks SO GUILTY! I said why is there oil on my phone again? I finally put two and two together and I looked at him and said "Did you drop my phone in the oil and balsamic vinegar?" The guilty look, smirk, and nervous laughing confirmed my suspicions. I look at him and said, "On my birthday!" and he said I guess it's good we got the insurance! What a goober...I just look at him and smiled and then took my phone apart the best I could and cleaned it out :) It's a good thing he is as cute as he is! I know you are awaiting the conclusion and I am happy to say that the phone is okay I was able to nurse my new blackberry to good health :) Now on to the way my birthday finished!

"Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do? Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You?"

It was 9:45 and I am happily plugging away on my blog and you saw above the area where I had to pause because the doorbell rang...WELL...
Paul went down stairs and answered the door and all of the sudden I can tell that whoever he is talking to in now in the house. Oh well whatever back to blogging. A few minutes later Paul comes upstairs and says, "Honey, you need to come downstairs!" I look at him with that why look and say, "Why?" "Honey, you need to put some pants on and come down stairs the cops are here!" "WHAT????" So this is the point where I need to back up and fill you in. About 20 mins prior to this the boys are in the front room of the house being SO loud. They are sword fighting and wrestling. I ignore it for about 5 mins and then I said to Paul, "They are making me crazy will you go tell them to quite down it's getting late." So the boys stop and are now in the other room watching TV and in comes the doorbell. This is where the visual starts...so picture this unfolding in front of you. The kids know they aren't allowed to answer the door so Paul goes and looks out the glass next to the door and can't see anybody but opens the door. Standing about 5 feet back on our porch is a police officer with his hand on his gun. Paul looks at him, then at his gun, and very cautiously says "Hello, can I help you?" The police officer says hello back and then takes his hand off his gun and all the sudden Paul hears the rocks move in our side yard and looks over and another police officer was on the side of the yard hiding behind our porch post also with his hand on his gun. Paul thinks to himself, what the heck is going on are we armed and dangerous because it was obvious they had tag teamed the house. The police officers come together and ask if they can come into the house. Paul says sure and in they come. The then proceed to tell Paul that they received a call saying that there was screaming in the house and the neighbor said it sounded like someone was being beaten up. Paul then proceeds to tell them that the boys were wrestling a bit ago and the front window is open so it must have carried outside but they were just playing and the blinds were open to you could see them sword fighting. The police officers ask how old they are and Paul tells them they are 11 and 8 and then calls Jared and Drew in the room. They come into the living room with their eyes huge like what is going on and are we going to jail. The police then ask them if they were wrestling and at the same time the boys say, "Y.E.S!" and then the officer asks where they go to school and what grade they are in. Jared takes over as the big brother and answers all the questions. Then they asked if they play hockey since there was a hockey stick on the floor (along with 3 other swords). Drew looks at him and says, "Um No I just use that as a sword...when I am using my imagination." At that point Delaney comes bounding down the stairs and stops full force at the bottom looks at the officers and says, "Hi!" With that the officers ask Paul if it is just the four of them and he says no my wife is upstairs. (All the while he said he was thinking...She is upstairs blogging in her panties and t-shirt totally unaware of the happenings down here. But thankfully he kept those tidbits to himself). The officer then asks if he could please go get me. That brings me back to...."What? The Cops? Why?" Paul then in 15 seconds tells me a neighbor called because of the boys and to hurry and put on pants because he is pretty sure they need to see that he (my hubby) didn't beat the crap out of me and that I was just upstairs blogging to the Olympics in my panties and t-shirt. So, I put on pants and go downstairs where now it is my turn to have the big eyes. I say hello and they explain why they were here and say thank you and that they will be on their way. Paul and I then explain to the boys while laughing that they need to bring it down a few notches and that they got the police called on us ON MY BIRTHDAY! My birthday oh man....I should have asked if I could take a picture with the officers because it was my birthday today and this really is very BLOG WORTHY!! Hindsight is 20/20...Maybe next year....After the police leave Paul and I turn off the lights to see if we can see where they went and we couldn't see squat so we ran upstairs turned out the lights again and watched from the second floor as the police cross the street and talk to some grown man on a scooter. You can tell they were explaining the story then they guy left to the other cul-de-sac across the street. Wasn't one of our immediate neighbors because they all know us...CRAZY...Did the officers mention to the other cul-de-sac neighbor it was still my birthday...oh no they couldn't of because I forgot to tell them and get my picture oh well. At this point one cop gets in his car and doesn't even turn his lights on and leaves and the other one gets in his car radio's it in that..."They went in full force but it all turned out good just some boys being boys" That is what I imagined he said and it probably the most exciting thing they will do tonight in our quiet town of Parker...Then the officer turned on his lights and left and that left me with a phone with oil in it and police staking out my house ready to draw their guns and with that I close out my birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOMMY! :):) I won't forget this one for a while! I am thinking the the Cops TV show them song "Bad Boys" will be the new ringer on my phone and my new favorite song for this next year....I will ponder that for a while...I was planning on telling you about one of the best birthday's I have had since Paul and I have been married but the whole police thing took over so I will fill you in on that one tomorrow because my computer is burning my legs and my fingers are cramping! Love you all and again Thank You to the Parker Police Dept. for keeping us safe and helping us teach our boys a lesson to "Bring it Down Just a Little!" XOXOXOXO

A Great Night At The Skate Park!

2008-08-13T08:59:00.011-06:00

We had so much fun at the skate park. The one who surprised us the most was Delaney. That girl was a powerhouse. Laney was all over the place with no fear and a nice load voice yelling "EXCUSE ME!" to the big kids when she wanted to come down a ramp. Basically she was saying get out of my way because here I come. Once we got Drew over the fear of falling and knowing that it was okay to fall he had a great time, it was just the process of encouraging him to get out there and try! Jared brought his BFF Mason with him. They had a great time and even ventured over to the big ramps. The pictures tell a better story than I do so here they are. Enjoy. XOXOXO

Waiting for Drew to choose to try :)
Sometimes he just needs a little time :0)

Elich Gardens Or Better Known To Many As Six Flags!!

2008-08-08T19:44:00.019-06:00

This is going to be a long post but definitely worth the time because there are some funny stories! :) There are pictures throughout so read on....

What a blast we had last Thursday!! Erin and I took all the big kids (all of mine and just Logan from her clan) to Elich Garden's today. After Erin's hour drive to meet me we all piled into her car because who wants to pay more than $10 for parking because come on $10 is enough. Just to give me a fair chance I have never been to Elich's. I know where it is but had know idea which roads took you there. We called Bryan who was already there with the Eagle's Nest kids and asked which exit should we take and through all of Bry's wisdom he said it the one after the Mile High Stadium. Well, there are like four right after the stadium so finally after asking 2 construction workers, 2 pedestrians, and finally the amazingly knowledgable police officer we made it to the parking lot. YEA US!! In we went and decided to hit the ride area first. We could hardly contain Logan's excitement so we went to the "Little Kids" section. They had fun in the Ball Room although Laney didn't like how loud it was with all the air compressors...but still fun.

Then we put them on the sweet little kids roller coaster. After a twenty minute wait (see picture below of them waiting) they were all super excited to get on...Except Jared who was to tall (that was the first time he was too big so don't get me started on how fast he is growing up!) Laney and Loggies got in the first seat and Drew got in the back...Visualize this...The kid running the ride talks to all the little munchkins and tells them how much fun they are going to have and that he will stop the ride right after the first time and you can give him a thumbs up to go again or a thumbs down which will tell him you would prefer to not go again and get off. Up, Up, Up they go up the six foot little ramp and the ride is off....See picture and if you will note Delaney's face you will see that as soon as they came around the last turn she is YELLING with those big blue eyes bigger than you could imagine "THUMBS DOWN THUMBS DOWN...With her Thumbs way up in the air pointing down to make sure the guy saw her!" It was like time stopped and I thought Erin was going to pee her pants from laughing so hard. So I think it will be a few years before Delaney is really ready for the coasters of the world. Remember this ain't no disneyland it's six flags there are no cute Mickey's to encourage you on. Laney gets off and Logan was so brave and stayed on and Erin was just coming back with Delaney when Logan's thumbs go down and he is outta there before the went again. I think Laney took a little of his courage with her and he was like ummmm yea NO I am outta here too! That will come up again in the dating years for sure! Can't you picture it..."Mom, is it okay if _____ (current boyfriend) & I go to Six Flags with some friends? That's fine honey but ______(current boyfriend) you had better take care of her because you know those coasters are a thumbs down for her. What do you mean Mrs. Marien...Well let me tell you..." Oh don't worry Little we would never do that to you or would we??? Here are the pictures of Drew having a great time and all of them together and then I thought we should see a close up of the terror...Notice Laney's wrapped around the bar for dear life...then imagine the coaster slowing down and THUMBS DOWN THUMBS DOWN!! Even days later I am still laughing!
Parking at Six Flags $10....Delaney and Logan's face on the roller coaster...PRICELESS!

After the scary roller coaster the littler ones found rides that were more to their liking. :)

On with the story...We went on to the big rides for Jared. Since Auntie has been pregnant every time she has gone to Elich's it was her turn to have some fun with Jared and they went on the big white rickity coaster that every six flags has and they loved it. You can't see them in the picture but that is them in that coaster. In the mean time Drew saw the spinning ride (see picture below) and was tall enough to ride. He was a little nervous, but wanted to do it. So, as soon as Jared finished he got in line with Drew and as they waited Drew talked himself into more nerves. By the time they got on he was quite scared, but I told him he could do it and Jared kept encouraging him too so he got on. But, before the ride started he got the technician to come over and he told him (something to the effects of) "Um if I tell you with my hand to stop will you please stop and let me off?" The conversation went on for about a minute and a half but Drew finally agreed and the ride started and he loved it! Whew!! Didn't want to hear about how terrible it was on the ride home so we heard about how great it was instead.
Look how serious my Drew looks sitting on that ride :)

After that we all headed to a water ride that we could all do together. It was so fun!! I definitely tried to find the least wet seat because as fun as it is I didn't want to be drenched even though the sign above the ride said "During this ride you won't get wet you will get DRENCHED!" Okay so off we went it was super fun we even came around a corner and I think I was in the process of getting wet and all the sudden this voice goes, "Oh my gosh...it's like water!" Who was that we all turned around and sure enough there was a guy standing with a microphone making fun of me. :) Make fun all you want but you weren't the one getting all wet:) As we got off I realized that I yes me was sopping wet from head to toe and Drew was pretty wet but everyone else had a few spots...NOT FAIR...Why do I always get the most wet on these dumb but fun rides....I guess God enjoys watching me! We all know he has a great sense of humor :)

This is our...yes mom is the most wet picture

Erin then took all the kids out to the car to get lunch started and changed into swimsuits for the water park side and I took Jared on the Mind Eraser. (Very much like batman in Calif.) So, Jared and I got in line and as we crept closer and closer to the front he became more and more nervous. You could see it on his face. I asked him how he was doing and he said he was really nervous. As we hit the front lines he said, "I might throw up!" I laughed and told him it was all nerves and he would be okay once it started and just to pray that God would give him courage...but if he did throw up make sure it was the opposite way of me:) Our turn finally came and we got on and I looked over and asked Jared if he was okay. He said, "No" and I asked him if he wanted to hold my hand and he said, "YES!!" So I grabbed his hand and off we went up, up, up...As many of you know I hate heights so as I myself am terrified I pulled it together for Jared:) So off the ride went and very fast if I my say so myself, and I started to scream (it was scary) and then I heard next to me my sweet 11 year old. He did not scream a little girly scream it was a guteral MAN scream AHHHHHH....AHHHHH...so so so funny! It was so funny that on the super fast ride I couldn't scream anymore because I was laughing so hard at my Jared's Man yell! As the ride ended he loved it and wanted to go again but that was not in the plan because poor Auntie was out in the parking lot with all the little kids.

Since our coaster that we went on took an hour we ran out to the parking lot to find Erin and the rest of the kiddos and have our quick lunch and change into swim suits and head back in to the water park side. The water park side was very fun but started to get cold as the afternoon clouds rolled in. The only funny part which really wasn't so funny to me but Erin thought it was funny was waiting in line for one of those big circle rafts where we all get to ride down together I was terrified this stupid ride had stairs and they were SOOOO high. We were so high up and I was so nervous and Erin kept laughing at me and told me to knock it off because I was going to freak out the kids...WELL, the kids should be freaked out it is unnatural for humans to be that high in the air...Hello that is why God made the ground for us:) But the ride itself was fun and the kids had a good time until their lips started turning a beautiful shade of blue from the cold so we finally called it a day. But, what a great day it was!!

Swim Lessons 101!

2008-08-08T16:21:00.007-06:00

Delaney was on the edge of a breakthrough and being our third we had not been as gung ho as our first two with the whole swim lessons thing. But this girl was a fish and right on the brink so Mommy called around and finally found some lessons she really liked. So Little went into a group class and needless to say she LOVED it! She would have gone to lessons 2 times a day if we would let her and she really like her teacher Dustin. We signed her up the second week and received a call saying that not enough signed up for her level and they were going to have to cancel her class. As the mom of the sweetest five year old girl who knew if she told her daughter it would crush her I called to find out if I could pay my right piggy toe as a down payment for private lessons. Oh yea, and was there any way Dustin would be able to do them?So as luck would have it Dustin was available. Also, the girl who runs the front desk pulled me aside to tell me that usually when she tells Dustin someone requested him if they are a younger munchkin he tells her to please ask one of the girls because they are so much better with little ones than he is and that he really enjoys they older kids more. But, when she told Dustin it was Delaney he said he would love to teach her. What a huge complement for Delaney. She is definately not your typical 5 year old girl she listens more than she talks and if you ask her to do it she does. The private lessons were amazing!! Delaney learned to swim in two lessons and is getting stronger each time so thanks so much Dustin. Here are some of my favorite pics. I will post another one tomorrow so come back and visit me again soon!!

Laney & Dustin

Look at that girl GO!

This was her third lesson

Breathing is not as easy as it looks

The Fun Parts!
Delaney loved back glides
and jumping in to Dustin :)