“Are we there yet???”

On Saturday our family loaded up in the van to make the eight hour trek to Idaho Falls for Greg's wedding. I am happy to report that the trip was pretty smooth sailing.

Long car rides are pretty painless for the kids these days with all of the different technology that we have to plug them into. Once on the road, we just strap the kids into the latest and greatest electronic device (DS, Leapster, DVD player, Laptop, books on tape, CD player, ipod, etc.) and guess what…….NOTHING BUT SILENCE. Yahoo!

However, I have to touch on some of the side effects that this new way of traveling has on the family. Our vocabulary has changed for sure.

Gone are the days when kids ask... Are we there yet? Instead my kids ask... How many more movies till we’re there?

To which Dan and I reply without hesitation….. this is a 6 movie trip :) You just finished your second movie which means we have 4 more to go and we will be there.

One good thing about this is that movies are usually about an hour and a half, so we only have this question asked about every hour and a half, when each movie ends. 5 more movies, 4 more movies, 3 more movies, and so on. It's got to be better than... Are we there yet?? repeated every 5 mins.

Can I hear an AMEN!

After our 8 hour mind numbing trip to Idaho Falls and another 4 hours of frying our brains today as we made our way back home, Dan and I decided it would be fun to surprise the kids and shake things up a bit. Instead of blazing a trail straight home today we stopped at Wahooz family fun zone. It's right off the freeway near Boise, about half way home. It was a perfect time to stop.

We unplugged from our van and plugged back into the family. We ate lunch and then played for about 3 hrs before jumping back on the road to finish the trip home. Here are a few of the fun things we did…

We skipped the bumper boats and water slides but had a ton of fun with the kids on all of the other stuff. It was a great “rest stop” for the whole family. Now it’s back on the rode for our “3 movie” ride home.

Greg and Brittany Rose

The Ceremony…Saying I do… and Exchanging of Rings

You may now Kiss the Bride

Adoring Looks

I now present to you… Greg and Brittany Rose

Family Pictures

Just Married!!!

Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day. We wish you guys many years of happiness.

Saying, “YES!”

My little brother Greg is getting married.

He officially proposed to Brittany (with just the two of them) while Brittany was here visiting from Idaho Falls. She said, “Yes”.

But because of a few different ring swaps with the jeweler the ring ended up back in Greg’s possession and what a better way to get it back on her finger than to “pop the question” again, in front of all the family at the rehearsal dinner. She said, Yes…again, and seemed just as excited the second time around. It was really sweet and fun to be a part of.  

“Mom, Look, The workers are taking the fence down!!!”

A couple of years ago we were told that a park was going in around the corner from our house. We were all really excited to have one so close to home. We watched them level out the ground, put in sprinklers, plant grass and trees and couldn’t wait to see the play structure, benches and picnic tables go in. But wait a minute… It’s been over a year now and our park still looks like this. My kids say it can’t really be called a park because it’s missing one very important item… THE TOYS!!!

Well guess what folks, the toys are in! After 2 years of waiting, we finally have a park. The kids have been watching and waiting for the last 3 weeks as the workers have been assembling this play structure. Today, as we pulled out of our street the kids all screamed, “MOM, LOOK, they’re taking down the fence from around the toys. We can play on them!!!”

I made a quick B-line across the street so that the kids could “officially” be the first to try them out. They had a blast!

Yea for our new park! 

Dear, Dad... Hugs & Kisses, Alaina

With the kind of work schedule Dan has had lately, as he runs the businesses, the kids have become extremely patient and understanding about his time availability. But it hasn't always been that way. They have had to learn that dad has other responsibilities in business that need to be taken care of in order to provide the lifestyle our family wants and needs. They have had to learn that their dad doesn't have summers off, or afternoons off, or even some Saturdays off. They have had to learn that dads who run businesses, especially in the start up phases, don't just work 9-5. This is sometimes tough on them, considering that they want their dads time and they "want it now!!!"

 

They have learned to value the time he is home, and respect and cheer him on for the time he is away. Whether he is away investing in real-estate, teaching seminars, selling security systems, training employees, bidding landscape jobs, or anything in between. The kids are learning to appreciate what "dad being gone" means and how it dovetails into his family and church life.

 

Fortunately, Dan does a great job of utilizing the time he does have at home with HIGH PRIORITY and QUALITY time with his kids and with me. He isn't watching TV or doing "guy things". He isn't getting into the next hobby or finding excuses why he can't "be with the fam". Instead, he goes out of his way to make sure that if he has some time at home, games are being played, trips are being taken, relationships are being built, scriptures are being read, and memories are being made.

 

Well, since his time at home is often limited, the kids eat up every moment they get of his time. AND, we have to make sure they are constantly being reminded of how cool it is that Dad or Mom are sacrificing there time and money to create stability and fun in the home.

 

So, after a fun little weekend trip away, Alaina went back to school and started thinking about how fun her weekend was. She took the initiative, on her own, to stay in from recess to write her "daddy" a love note. The fact that it was unprompted by anyone or anything other that her own thoughtfulness makes me appreciate her that much more. It is cool that the coaching we are giving, although we think it probably goes in one ear and out the other, is actually sinking in with our beautiful young children. 

Thanks Alaina for sharing such a loving note with your dad. I know it touched his heart and brought him to tears. Actually, it brought me to tears too. I love knowing that you see all that your dad does for you and that you are beginning to appreciate it. We both love you so much. Thanks! 

 

Lots of fun in Seattle, packed into two little days

Friday, DAY 1: Science Center, Carnival, Dinner at the Space Needle, and Swimming.

We had a great time in Seattle this weekend with the kids and our nephew Kayleb. Our first stop of the day was the Science Center. The kids always have a blast there with all of the interactive exhibits and games, dinosaurs, butterfly garden, fountains and much much more.

There main exhibit right now is Animal Grossology. It was hilarious! Each station had a different gross animal fact and an activity to do. The kids really liked this room.

 

We made it to an IMAX showing of Night at the Museum while we were there. The whole family loved it. (It’s BrUndon) Ha Ha!

On our walk over to the Space Needle we ran into all of the carnival rides and had a little time to kill before our dinner reservations so we stopped to play.

  

The Space Needle was super spendy for a family of eight but the experience was totally worth it. The kids loved looking out the window as the whole restaurant moved slowing in a circle during dinner. They wrote notes on their drink coasters and propped them up in the window sill  to see if we would make it back to them by the time our dinner was done.

One of the best parts of dinner was to watch the kids faces as their dessert was brought out to them. Oh, the excitement! They had lunar sundaes. The ice cream sundae dish sat suspended over dry ice which made smoke spill out of their desserts covering our whole table. It was quite the presentation.

By this picture you can tell we had done a lot of walking today. When stepping off the space needle elevator my flip flop broke. I tried to keep it on my foot by squeezing the middle piece of strap between my toes and sliding my shoe along the ground but it just wasn’t happening, so I got to finish our walk down the city street and to the parking garage like this :) Sweet!

A little hotel swimming to finish up our evening. 

Saturday, Day 2: The Aquarium, Puget Sound, Curiosity Shop, and the Woodland Park Zoo.

We headed down to Pike Place Market and the Sound to start out our adventures for today. We walked down to the Aquarium and had a lot of fun looking at all kinds of fish and underwater creatures. I think the family’s favorite was watching the octopus swim around.

We walked around down by the ocean, walked through a few shops and ate lunch at Ivars. (Here’s Kayleb’s purchase from the curiosity shop. A Whip. Like a real Indiana Jones Whip. I asked him what he was going to use it for and he told me, “ To keep his mom in line, make sure she doesn’t  give him any lip :) Yeah Right.

Dan kept all of our little ducks in a row down the busy Seattle streets. (Hut 234)

We finished out the rest of our day at the Zoo. The kids two favorite things at the zoo were feeding the giraffe’s (So Cool!) and playing inside of all of the different animals home’s. Lots of fun!

   

After all of this fun packed into two days it was time to head home. Great Vacation!