Hey Everyone!

Here are some vacation pictures! The first one is from where we spent most of our time - the beach of Sanibel Island. The next one is me on our boat-ride to Key West. I also have a sunset picture from our boat-ride back from Key West. And then there is FABulous with her BFFs at Sweet-N-Sassy salon and her new hair cut! Now for the scoop.....






Okay. So I am sorry that it has taken me so long to post after my VACATION! Life just gets crazy…as you all know very well! Let me give you the recap!

Kelli’s hubby took us and dropped us off at the airport on Thursday morning. We got there about 5:00 and our flight was supposed to leave at 6:10. Well, we see right away that it is delayed by one hour. Okay. Not a great start to our day, but we had a 2 hour lay-over in Detroit, so no big deal. So…we get our boarding passes and then they start weighing and tagging our luggage and Kelli’s suitcase was more than 50 pounds. She had borrowed one from her parents and it was HUGE. That cost her $50. Not a good start to our day. So, she pays that and is not happy, but we vow to not let it ruin our day. We go through security and they pull her off to the side and rudely tell her to sit….she had a bottle of sunscreen – new and un-opened – in her carry-on. That is a no-no. It can’t be larger than 3 ounces. So she has to give that to them. She is now on the verge of tears and I am trying to keep her together. The girl is getting ready to turn 40 so she is emotional! LOL We got to our gate and finally (after the hour delay) board our plane and go to Detroit. We run across that airport to get to our next gate (seriously it was at least a mile!) and it is on time! Great!!! We see our plane come in and watch the people get off it. We watch our suitcases arrive to be loaded…and then we hear an announcement that due to mechanical issues, our flight is being delayed and there will be an another announcement in 30 minutes – which is 15 minutes past when we are supposed to be in the air. We were hungry, so we went to look for food…we found some and came back only to find that all the people that were waiting to board our plane were gone….empty…poof. Our first thought was that they boarded it without us…not good. Then we realized that they had just moved us to a different gate and plane. Good! They were already boarding…great! So…we get in the air to Fort Meyers. Life is good. I could tell the plane was starting to descend…I was excited…and ready to get off the plane. Then…the plane starts to ascend again…what? I asked Kelli about it and by this point, she was annoyed with my many questions – I am a bit of a nervous flyer. So, she ignored me…lol…she was watching a movie on my mp3 player. Sure enough, the pilot comes on and says that there was a thunderstorm over the runway, so we are gonna fly around for a few minutes until it passes – you know Florida storms. So, we see some golf courses, the ocean…the same golf courses, the ocean….the same golf courses, the ocean…and then the pilot comes on and says that we are going to have to go to Ft. Lauderdale to re-fuel and then come back and try to land again. WHAT? I want to go to FORT MEYERS, not FORT LAUDERDALE! Whatever. So….20 minutes or so later, we land in Fort Lauderdale. We are not allowed to get off the plane and just wait for them to refuel. Great. We are done getting gas…we get in line to take off….we are like the 2nd plane in line…and then all of a sudden all of these planes are passing us…what? The pilot comes on and tells us that for some reason we have been pulled out of the line for take-off…we need to park and get directions..so hang-tight. I WANT OFF THE PLANE! LOL Don’t know what happened, but we eventually took off and headed to Fort Meyers. This time….no problem! We landed!!! Hallelujah! We got our rental car…that was a trip…..and then found our hotel. It was very nice! It wasn’t as close to the beach as we had hoped, but for the price…it was perfect!
So, the first night we went to the beach – of course – we ate appetizers at some small dive on the beach. Then we went to Super Target and got the stuff we needed for our day at the beach the next day and then ate dinner at Cheeseburgers in Paradise. We had a great first night there after the whole flight situation!!!

Friday, July 4th…we got up early and had our free breakfast at the hotel and then headed to Sanibel Island! We stopped by the visitor center and looked at the map to figure out what beach to go to…got that figured out and went down to find it. We found it and let me tell you…it was a piece of heaven! We walked out…determined to get all of our stuff in one trip…and it was a long walk because this was a beach that was so beautiful and so un-commercialized…it was awesome! You literally looked left…saw nothing but beach….looked right…saw nothing but beach….looked out…saw nothing but ocean…looked behind you…saw nothing but vegetation. It was wonderful. We staked our spot…oh, we had bought one of those Styrofoam coolers and filled it with ice and drinks. I carried it out there and it started to leak. Well, it was stinking heavy, so when Kelli picked our spot, I might’ve put it down too hard…it broke! Ice and drinks went everywhere! It was awful! We salvaged as much ice as we could…but it was kinda comical!!! Anyways, we got all settled and I decided to go get in the water for a bit. I wasn’t in there but like 10 minutes and I saw 2 dolphins – not even 20 feet from me! So..yeah, at first I was thinking sharks. LOL But then I realized it was dolphins and I was so excited. I started yelling for Kelli and then got out because although they are friendly, they were a little close! But that was very cool! We literally spent 7 or 8 hours at the beach that day. It was HEAVEN. We read or slept or played in the water or just watched the waves and people. It was such a wonderful, wonderful day. We went to dinner at a cool restaurant on a marina that night and then sat in their lounge area that was on the 2nd floor to watch the fireworks. Very cool way to spend the 4th of July!

Saturday, we got up early and went on a boat-ride to Key West! The ride was 3.5 hours long…and we just sat on the top deck and watched the waves pretty much the whole time….awesome! When we got to Key West we rented bicycles and rode all around the island! I hadn’t ridden a bicycle in more than 15 years, so that was interesting! Lots of laughs there! But I didn’t wreck! We went to the southernmost point…only 90 miles from Cuba! Then we had lunch at a place called Kelly’s – it is owned by Kelly McGinnis. We did some more riding around and then went shopping…we went to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville…that was AWESOME! It was just a wonderful, wonderful day. We saw as much of the island as we could until we had to get back on the boat to come back. It rained a little bit, so we sat in the lower deck and watched a movie and then went up to the top deck to watch the sunset. It was amazing!!! We saw a ton of rainbows! That night, we went to a hopping bar at Ft. Meyers for dinner. It was karaoke night, so that provided lots of laughs! We had a great time there.

Sunday…that was Kelli’s 40th Birthday! We got up very early and I gave her her present….that was fun! I got her a really cool bracelet. Then we went to the store and got more drinks and snacks for the beach…and a real cooler! We headed back out to our same beautiful beach and spent another 7 hours at the beach! Then we went shopping and then back to the room. We ended up taking naps – the sun wipes you out! Then we went back to the same dive on the beach and ate dinner there. It was a wonderful, wonderful day!!!

Monday, we got up and headed to the beach…again! We spent as much time as we could there before we had to come back to the room and get ready to go home. We got to the airport JUST IN TIME because I thought we flew out at 3:56, but instead it was 3:00!!! The flight home was perfectly uneventful! We were a tad late getting into Dayton, but nothing like the trip down there!!!

So…that was our vacation! I know I left out a bunch, but you get the gist! It was a FABULOUS vacation that I loved every minute of and would do it again in a heartbeat! Jodi wants to take a cruise when she turns 40 in two years…count me in! It was wonderful!!!!

So, when I got back…FABulous turned 4! I can’t believe she is already 4! So, the day after her birthday, we went to Sweet-N-Sassy with 3 of her BFFs. It was a fun – DIVA-FILLED day! My MIL brought the girls long-stemmed pink roses…very cute. They had a wonderful time and I LOVE Faith Anne’s new short hair-cut! It is so cute on her…and her hair is perfect for it!

The next day, I turned 32…whoopee! Scott and the kids took me to lunch – which was nice – and then I took the kids to the Clinton County Fair with my parents. We had a great time…and it was a fun way to spend my birthday!

Then I had to come back to work…but GUESS WHAT?!?!?!? STINKY PETE IS GONE!!! Yep, he got moved to Austin, Texas…so I have a new boss….and he is WONDERFUL. He is someone I have worked with for the past 7 years and I LOVE HIM! Now, he isn’t perfect, but he is WAY BETTER than Stinky Pete! So, that is very, very exciting!!! Stinky Pete actually told me that he was moving before I left for vacation…it was official when I got back. So, very cool!!!

Then we had Faith Anne’s birthday party…fun, but Brayden – my nephew – bit two kids! And of course, the two kids he bit were Lucy, the little girl at our church who has leukemia, and Jodi’s foster-daughter Aniya. So…that was bad. I felt horrible and wanted Stacey to just leave with him, but how do you tell your SIL to leave? It wasn’t good.

So…this week we have Camp Extreme at church – which is SUPER fun, but SUPER tiring! I run from work to get the kids to home to change clothes and grab a bite to eat to church…and then home to bathe the kids and then put them to bed and clean up the house or collapse into bed! That has been our lives this week. But tonight is the last night and it is so much fun for all the kids – so it is worth it! We don’t have big plans for this weekend, so hopefully I can get my house back in order!
Well, that is about it for now! Thanks for hanging in there this long, if you did! I am going on an Emmaus Walk next weekend…so it might be a while before I post again! Love to all!!! And please keep Jimmie (Jodi’s hubby) in your prayers! The uncertainty is very hard! We just have to trust that God is in control!!! Love ya!

VACATION!!!!

So, how in the world am I going to survive this day at work? I am bored out of my mind at work and today is my LAST DAY BEFORE VACATION! There always has to be a “last day before vacation”, but they really stink! Hopefully either I get a fun project to work on to make the time go by fast…or my boss just says to go home early. Yeah, that isn’t going to happen…so hopefully it will just go by fast!

So…since it has only been a week since my last post, I don’t have a lot to say…but like I said, I am bored! So I am sure I can think of something!

Maybe I won’t do a person-by-person update this time. Maybe I will just talk about what is going on.

Last week, my Daddy turned 65! That is just so hard to comprehend for me. When did I get so old and my parents age so much? I mean, seriously, they are both in fantastic health and I don’t think either of them look or act their age, but 65 is a scary number for me in my mind. I guess I just can’t really fathom the day that they won’t be here anymore. Anyways, I have just been thinking about that a lot lately. We didn’t really do a whole lot to celebrate his birthday. For some reason, going out to dinner with me and my three kids wasn’t his idea of a relaxing dinner! LOL We did go out to dinner later in the week, and validated why he didn’t think it was a relaxing dinner! Three kids – especially with two under 4 – is just a lot!

Last Friday night, Scott had a softball game. He plays for his work team and my Uncle Poncho plays with them…so it is fun to go to those games and see my family! Plus they won! Anywhoo, after the game…somehow I left the ballfield with 2 extra little girls! LOL Not sure how this all came about, but I left with Abbey May and Madison (Mandy’s daughter and our friend’s daughter). We first went to the fireworks (there was some sort of celebration on the Base) with Mandy, Steve and Eli…and Isaac was with us too. Scott and Gracie went home. So, we watched the fireworks and then the girls all came to my house for a sleepover! I didn’t realize when we first asked Abbey that it was her first sleepover (besides at her grandparent’s, of course). She was so cute when I asked her if she wanted to stay…she said that she would have to think about it and then ask her Mommy and Daddy.

I got the girls situated in bed and asleep before midnight and then they were up by 7:20. They played pretty good together, aside from the normal drama of sharing toys. Gracie wanted to be right in the middle of whatever they were doing and that didn’t go over too well. At one point, I was putting laundry away and I hear the three older girls all telling Gracie to go away and then all of a sudden I hear crying….Gracie bit Madison on the foot…and left a mark! She bit her pretty hard! I was like…couldn’t you have at least bit your sister and not one of the other girls?!??! So, then I think they were all scared of Gracie the rest of the morning!

So, my nice peaceful and shopping-filled Saturday morning plans didn’t happen, but that was alright because it really was fun for the girls and I had fun watching them! They played tea-party, doctor, mommy, dress-up….all kinds of things! At one point, Abbey was in Gracie’s bed being the baby and Faith Anne and Madison were hugging…they were being the Mommy and the Daddy! LOL So cute to see little girls play together!

Oh….just had to insert this. Did you know that I have collar bones? I didn’t know I had them until I felt them yesterday for the first time. Funny how I am noticing little things like that since I have lost so much weight. I am down 63 pounds now. I am hoping to just maintain or only have a slight gain over the next week of vacation.

So…vacation! Kelli and I fly out on Thursday morning and get to Ft. Myers around noon. We are both so excited! We are planning on going to Key West one day and renting bikes to tour the island! That should be really fun! Since we have both lost so much weight and are both so aware of it, I hope that we keep each other on track! We are planning on splitting a lot of meals and stuff – not only to watch what we eat, but also to save some money! And we are going to get up and walk on the beach every morning to watch the sunrise! If we can get up and go to the gym at 4:00, we can surely get up at 6:00 to watch the sunrise! So, we leave Thursday and come home on Monday evening. I am so excited, but I am also starting to feel guilty and sad about leaving the kids. I am going to miss them so much….but I also need this Mommy time. I know that some of you probably think I am selfish for doing this, but everyone is different and this is something that I need for me. Scott is so great to let me do this. He is going to have help with the kids from my parents and his mom. Plus he is great with them and manages them every morning by himself anyways!

I promise to tell you all about it when we get back…and will try to post some pictures! I don’t come back to work until next Thursday! So…two days of work this week and two days of work next week! I was gonna come back on Wednesday, but that is my birthday and I decided that I would rather be home with my kids on my birthday then at work!

Umm…let’s see…..Isaac’s baseball team won their game again last night. He played 3rd base one time and he didn’t do very good. He just wasn’t paying attention at all. The coach talked to him after that inning and the next time he played pitcher…doesn’t mean he pitched because it is coach-pitch, but he stands next to the pitcher. That is usually the person who gets the most action…and he did great! I was so proud of him! He is having a lot of fun and learning a lot! Last night was his coach’s last night because they are on vacation and we only have two more games….he got all choked up talking to the boys. His oldest son was there and he made him come next to him and told him that it wasn’t but a blink of the eye ago that he was their age. It was so sweet…he is such a sporty, manly, man…but also so tender-hearted and good with the kids. We are blessed to have him as a coach.
My little girl, Faith Anne, will be four on Monday! That has just flown by! We are taking her, Abbey, Kristin and Madison to Sweet and Sassy on Tuesday to have their hair done and their nails and toenails painted! That will be very cute, I am sure! Then we having a Hannah Montana party next Saturday! I would love to find a cute dress with sequins on it for Faithy to wear to her party….so I need to look for that. She is a true Diva!

Oh…so…this past weekend, I went to a birthday party (took Isaac and Faith Anne) at the skating rink. So, how do you teach a kid to roller skate? I tried to help Isaac and Faith Anne, but I don’t know how you teach them to do it! Isaac was not gonna give up and he (by himself) went all the way around the rink (holding onto the wall). Now, it took him a long time…but he did it! Bless his heart, he wanted to go again and ended up wiping out pretty bad. I seriously thought we were going to have to go to the ER, but then he felt better. Faith Anne did alright, but she didn’t like it too much. I put skates on and instantly remembered how to do it and did really, really well….until….I was going to go back out to the rink and fell on the carpeted step! How dumb is it to have a step in a skating rink! LOL I have a big knot on my knee…but I really think that Scott and I are going to go there on a date-night soon. It was so much fun, I had kinda forgot how much I loved that!

Well, I guess I better do something constructive here today! Take care everyone and I won’t be able to keep up with everyone…so I will “see you” when I get back! Love you all!!!