tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90468888717747867242024-02-18T21:07:37.227-06:00Mommy in the MomentSomehow, I always seem to come up just short of "Mother of the Year" (and by "just short" I mean not by a long shot) so I decided I would have to be happy with being Mommy in the Moment.
I hope you enjoy reading my antidotes about my family, adoption, foster care, or whatever else I come up with.Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.comBlogger214125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-76905218898012944832010-04-18T20:50:00.011-05:002010-05-26T17:07:24.060-05:00Next Stop Washington, DC<span style="font-size:130%;">We had decided to rent a car & drive to DC, because according to the mileage, it should only be about a 3 hour drive...right? And of course, before we could even take off, everybody had to wake up; this can be a bit challenging when traveling with a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">teenager</span>. I decided that since he had been unwilling to pose for any pictures thus far, I would take whatever I could get. At least when he is sleeping he cannot cover his face.<br /><br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJfqEI5wgzjHEPZNSjs1w-tc3Cio6Hn5gtwYot25KRvispTeAZQHUjjrz7yOnBX4XLds7_QiK3xjAFzafrCza24lr1kbffYUlkuYt277uqSV-_nZhhJlPxbaEL8K807ciDO68FssIcS8/s1600/100_0054.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461675614872914770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJfqEI5wgzjHEPZNSjs1w-tc3Cio6Hn5gtwYot25KRvispTeAZQHUjjrz7yOnBX4XLds7_QiK3xjAFzafrCza24lr1kbffYUlkuYt277uqSV-_nZhhJlPxbaEL8K807ciDO68FssIcS8/s320/100_0054.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> Once we were all up & ready to go, we called Enterprise, because, "they'll pick you up". Of course they don't say how soon they will pick you up. And in our case, of course, it was about a 2 hour wait...even though when I reserved the car I was told to just call when we were ready to go. (The return of the car did not go much better...) But finally, we had our car & off we went. I found it very curious to learn when we stopped for gas that, according to the signs, it is illegal for a person to pump their own gas. Since it was mighty chilly, we were fine with them having a bunch of guys at every gas station to stand in the cold for us, we just weren't used to it.<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavZrigHsvkmZOKNNsJ5lOKSrwjYrf8VMt_X3ExPIUq_vxMmesa1o55Sdn2Wi3iRkiZWu56VEjxJnSUw_YLQr5ESbPxyqc46DC83QbewF-BOIpkyQLN2e02AjdGJYmdswvPG9L09oTbVs/s1600/100_0058.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461675604198008834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavZrigHsvkmZOKNNsJ5lOKSrwjYrf8VMt_X3ExPIUq_vxMmesa1o55Sdn2Wi3iRkiZWu56VEjxJnSUw_YLQr5ESbPxyqc46DC83QbewF-BOIpkyQLN2e02AjdGJYmdswvPG9L09oTbVs/s320/100_0058.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> And even though looking at the mileage it is only a three hour drive, it was really more like 5, given that practically half of the trip was in rush hour traffic. But after all of the waiting & driving, we did make it to our hotel in time for dinner. And we had a nice view of the Capital from the outside of the hotel.<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMm7zXmb9Y_7vjqf-_l1aSPOX-yspoixtSzFZGC9mRc1brWLv3niXHfYHhjxXbntNq-81xHcjJC0xUVFWpgYd6NUtT8CHBb0PlTXRqhCZ7dxQqP2eagNf-_PaEQZQ-cliVBzA0zQQd0M/s1600/100_0059.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461675598991868258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMm7zXmb9Y_7vjqf-_l1aSPOX-yspoixtSzFZGC9mRc1brWLv3niXHfYHhjxXbntNq-81xHcjJC0xUVFWpgYd6NUtT8CHBb0PlTXRqhCZ7dxQqP2eagNf-_PaEQZQ-cliVBzA0zQQd0M/s320/100_0059.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> We had hoped to tour the White House, but even though the White House website makes it sound like they try to grant most request....according to our representative, they almost never grant the requests...ours included. But she did offer to schedule a capital tour for us, and Tyler actually wanted to see that, since he had seen a TV show that said it was haunted.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">He was not quite as excited when he found out our tour was scheduled for 9 AM, and that we'd be walking. But miraculously, he did make it up in time, and managed to make it all the way there without collapsing from<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83mF_F1DfjbhFmFGL6bl5sZET9fBX-_mVa9W99WMWRHgC_qwyZJEbHsHQWudYlfTIvP3IoCE9C0w_DfSdhdsOmJ4w1ib36HMzfRSRfbxWhXGkqW41sHYJgWrjqvaBOSbEdZY2BjadCV4/s1600/100_0060.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461674824524122770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83mF_F1DfjbhFmFGL6bl5sZET9fBX-_mVa9W99WMWRHgC_qwyZJEbHsHQWudYlfTIvP3IoCE9C0w_DfSdhdsOmJ4w1ib36HMzfRSRfbxWhXGkqW41sHYJgWrjqvaBOSbEdZY2BjadCV4/s320/100_0060.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461672950351252018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqqnLNY3fVvSkb1_xxbV15Mh42E6sXSdj9Lbbt7sG97vMsTFMtHf7zV3D8-NTQRvQvx5jVoWI82rZFh8ngB7Qng9bMMFEhlX4GYTSDRi2w26EXwQGRIuPwjOtJCoiVRrLajPkAtWOw8s/s320/SUNP0001.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461674790251305250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_XlQ7CB73YgpdsNVxQRdegaKutQBLjHsp5_DQSK_q3foh_yYQ2BEJctSQLng7NbV1WbjDtWWtwA6RJT9oKnY9wifj9b88zX031YrAkhMp0C4V_oI4FtQxUa4a1TkpfruCQ-6GX6_2OjQ/s320/IMG_1899.JPG" /> </span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFctMxce5LeJ_DwgpIzLjLED8o1mqTKi86gy2U1uRLSHPuTylqH_pk0zQEFSd7hZrvMlUGLFjsbSlDZAs2fwJB9oXTuaAnRiTepCqlvQzvWHxPype67a3UFovbTS7shdKESzmu7xpXVF8/s1600/100_0063.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461674819327293954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFctMxce5LeJ_DwgpIzLjLED8o1mqTKi86gy2U1uRLSHPuTylqH_pk0zQEFSd7hZrvMlUGLFjsbSlDZAs2fwJB9oXTuaAnRiTepCqlvQzvWHxPype67a3UFovbTS7shdKESzmu7xpXVF8/s320/100_0063.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> Look at their excitement as we waited for the tour to begin... that looks pretty close to a smile from a 14 year old who was forced to go on vacation with his parents & little brother.</span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461673789900078514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFSWLOk89Ejjfxn9cel1Ch7KLeKzWmZwwuqy5osXhxzPcsBiLCNg_UnaaRr0l2slqJLKvwNnEr1BFu8TpoiUA-SfPfq48NCxLldFCVV22CKI4dRy8naECFqffuuQlIaDVcceY5watw6u8/s320/100_0066.JPG" /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGT2BVGysgdCexKSp1LD2Rva_0Ys-XcWCYZj6o7F-eyYfnSUp0FPFoapNY4VJKcMA_EHM5bRBRu0yxIUFsVkmAJVXwMXA4Jk-wkNc7vcuusZ8RS2rIwMmgeiIaqttgmPvKn_kwoGIj1Uo/s1600/100_0064.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461674811090844530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGT2BVGysgdCexKSp1LD2Rva_0Ys-XcWCYZj6o7F-eyYfnSUp0FPFoapNY4VJKcMA_EHM5bRBRu0yxIUFsVkmAJVXwMXA4Jk-wkNc7vcuusZ8RS2rIwMmgeiIaqttgmPvKn_kwoGIj1Uo/s320/100_0064.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> Do you see the light are right behind this guys shoe? That is the exact center of Washington DC. (I know, you thought I just really like his shoes!)<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeRY22wAMqvqpAghJ5RRiJFR5uTqWJxypiTf22RfL1VlQa8CyDTSckBrGneeznsa10Vn2ByAPlTvkLI8Lgyr1ortzuF8w7-qUJCl34OfJbyuNqP9lm7eVSollhUo731TzIECfsKilwq0/s1600/100_0081.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461674796583126194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeRY22wAMqvqpAghJ5RRiJFR5uTqWJxypiTf22RfL1VlQa8CyDTSckBrGneeznsa10Vn2ByAPlTvkLI8Lgyr1ortzuF8w7-qUJCl34OfJbyuNqP9lm7eVSollhUo731TzIECfsKilwq0/s320/100_0081.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">There are tons of statues, some I <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">recognized</span>, some not so much.<br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KNke8ByIB8gS3y8k9nkBR3teMLcV36YSy5B80bs_FGGd00oZhE17vtVMpapPirHDH9vKEgo5jhCTVoFtsdCapQ3iU9Nup7FvNIuwPO5aLC5CcHRigkyf9OUDNdR3q89SgeaQNKBdCAI/s1600/100_0067.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 211px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461673785194744994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KNke8ByIB8gS3y8k9nkBR3teMLcV36YSy5B80bs_FGGd00oZhE17vtVMpapPirHDH9vKEgo5jhCTVoFtsdCapQ3iU9Nup7FvNIuwPO5aLC5CcHRigkyf9OUDNdR3q89SgeaQNKBdCAI/s320/100_0067.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidshkUIv9cuBWM0bVK_h-fz3__iDljSV9IyW35DmMGyKxJEcLir8o2FV5WJa7Gs28h5WHVmbyad6kssfS04DHDvPNdBJN7TZ74gCJsiWhi9mjV6VtUXmooRuWf_dXQkxm01VnZ_AB49vw/s1600/100_0073.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 249px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461673776259079122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidshkUIv9cuBWM0bVK_h-fz3__iDljSV9IyW35DmMGyKxJEcLir8o2FV5WJa7Gs28h5WHVmbyad6kssfS04DHDvPNdBJN7TZ74gCJsiWhi9mjV6VtUXmooRuWf_dXQkxm01VnZ_AB49vw/s320/100_0073.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJQJ1XivSX1cWY2gHQH4LPSvOuZ4c_BA4HZGEzNwqtbts4KpmWRNfbUtMYka3YjG7SwQWReqzaUBqDEUDAfBLMA9b2IoEdWrnx4p0YCu4aCBaXvNGbEUkdlPF-Ib0Yvqt_BJn7ls7nEE/s1600/100_0079.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461673762580583586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJQJ1XivSX1cWY2gHQH4LPSvOuZ4c_BA4HZGEzNwqtbts4KpmWRNfbUtMYka3YjG7SwQWReqzaUBqDEUDAfBLMA9b2IoEdWrnx4p0YCu4aCBaXvNGbEUkdlPF-Ib0Yvqt_BJn7ls7nEE/s320/100_0079.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><div><span style="font-size:130%;">This was really amazing to see, although it made me a little dizzy looking up at it.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzzU6sZJnhCffAOcddxFoc_VXwGRiIFw_DDNDTTNAVHngnpK9t44_4X7ZnwveKw7q4KG824uyKcpwu8i_YLF0j2nvuz5qgOzOnP5LPDAhj9y8uHPH5-Qq6VVt3oo1MCHmLu_x1Mu9Z8A/s1600/IMG_1913.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461673754731902738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRzzU6sZJnhCffAOcddxFoc_VXwGRiIFw_DDNDTTNAVHngnpK9t44_4X7ZnwveKw7q4KG824uyKcpwu8i_YLF0j2nvuz5qgOzOnP5LPDAhj9y8uHPH5-Qq6VVt3oo1MCHmLu_x1Mu9Z8A/s320/IMG_1913.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneeyC7ijWJB1N9kEC_W6hmCydurk3jf58NYzbA9J3DvvEyOouvExR-ix4dCoRoy9W5e1wOePaqNVCv65Ncu3Sd3Wl3embucpsHj7nDUCc0IDDc4NXSVoAqF6_C0u2MvfLc7bklVWBAgU/s1600/100_0077.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461672978218976594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneeyC7ijWJB1N9kEC_W6hmCydurk3jf58NYzbA9J3DvvEyOouvExR-ix4dCoRoy9W5e1wOePaqNVCv65Ncu3Sd3Wl3embucpsHj7nDUCc0IDDc4NXSVoAqF6_C0u2MvfLc7bklVWBAgU/s320/100_0077.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmq4QcS4ulRQA3h36xoNQ_iZLf0XWTDW3L7Qc97WhB0ff2DLQLFHwt1EDFrf59AZGsBD7vnBW-71p3DbuRFNaSaOGW51HJGSsgfyyi__tFoIUQSpcH7q8OOIsTiRI5qSWUNnq31o4Ilk/s1600/IMG_1917.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 234px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461672967090330322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmq4QcS4ulRQA3h36xoNQ_iZLf0XWTDW3L7Qc97WhB0ff2DLQLFHwt1EDFrf59AZGsBD7vnBW-71p3DbuRFNaSaOGW51HJGSsgfyyi__tFoIUQSpcH7q8OOIsTiRI5qSWUNnq31o4Ilk/s320/IMG_1917.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> See the spot in the picture? Chris & Cameron are convinced those are "orbs" aka ghosts. There were several pictures that had them on, in different places, but I'm still not 100% convinced. </span><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8daN0OmvUQZndcm8bHG1tUGz2fFtWW1hm7uRIJ8KhLmHLtl5VqpRf9I2tOC_m6Yf96OC6fzliCo3Gh-yYMmKdqjEzUlLoA5H9H1AekJvod7lncLlbyrNXSdUeexrjZxg5pent2ajC8Y/s1600/IMG_1916.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461672959150869634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8daN0OmvUQZndcm8bHG1tUGz2fFtWW1hm7uRIJ8KhLmHLtl5VqpRf9I2tOC_m6Yf96OC6fzliCo3Gh-yYMmKdqjEzUlLoA5H9H1AekJvod7lncLlbyrNXSdUeexrjZxg5pent2ajC8Y/s320/IMG_1916.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">After the tour, we started walking, because there is not much <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">parking</span> available there, even if we did want to drive. There are a lot of impressive looking buildings, but there are just so many of them that I've forgotten the name! I <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">believe</span> this one is the national archives.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQ_BdzZX0liF64xAS9P6bYkOAAnuaHQ5E-rvCRnASqslSz-gY2OGb1Jq3ABGPZ4sIjNmFdVfvjncMXTw_glOB9ofmn8zlXiEAaumeyVSHuek8oP7ZkO0sLEm2reZWgVwswJDD9T11mBI/s1600/IMG_1921.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461672945216986258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQ_BdzZX0liF64xAS9P6bYkOAAnuaHQ5E-rvCRnASqslSz-gY2OGb1Jq3ABGPZ4sIjNmFdVfvjncMXTw_glOB9ofmn8zlXiEAaumeyVSHuek8oP7ZkO0sLEm2reZWgVwswJDD9T11mBI/s320/IMG_1921.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />I cannot remember what this one was...I was not so great in Social Studies!</span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrJ2i9vuLn2dfrRR787gXGVPu7s5y7Jpx7ftEwLul0a2XRfJSrEPEfYI5lguu2TQ5A2VFDdV3rIwqAaRCUlW6Q_cA05TfuoKG540h_qKiMVKV4a5xLszFLDkTnoHescc_hyphenhyphenmOPRFnPnk/s1600/100_0083.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461669155011609794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrJ2i9vuLn2dfrRR787gXGVPu7s5y7Jpx7ftEwLul0a2XRfJSrEPEfYI5lguu2TQ5A2VFDdV3rIwqAaRCUlW6Q_cA05TfuoKG540h_qKiMVKV4a5xLszFLDkTnoHescc_hyphenhyphenmOPRFnPnk/s320/100_0083.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1qH7VdQDU4e5JFRXlR2nccTnhBmyEg51xQlyJUiG2-39cTXDW_1aR9nvLlKuUTUjyFu8G7-a_-zK6TlEGko40CsNFjhCXZF_HRxZTHKNO-tPnVnbIWFdD5zcdkaE3kjwbnRPSsO7YAA/s1600/100_0086.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 234px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461669139812491426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH1qH7VdQDU4e5JFRXlR2nccTnhBmyEg51xQlyJUiG2-39cTXDW_1aR9nvLlKuUTUjyFu8G7-a_-zK6TlEGko40CsNFjhCXZF_HRxZTHKNO-tPnVnbIWFdD5zcdkaE3kjwbnRPSsO7YAA/s320/100_0086.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">It was kind of a long walk to get to the White House, but we made it. You can't go to DC without seeing that!<br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtPIclaTOxCOOI-aoyoeNEBeqOUuzyi2EshMgQs5cvrO9sH_3NTvZ1MTzEBlhyklLJtCZzTIUzDGa7Y4nbwbIrcbID1Gm2GdgYyNgVK2MOtMmc30qyu1Ik6zSICW9F9Xc1Zv8DeXG2cQ/s1600/100_0090.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461669131834419682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtPIclaTOxCOOI-aoyoeNEBeqOUuzyi2EshMgQs5cvrO9sH_3NTvZ1MTzEBlhyklLJtCZzTIUzDGa7Y4nbwbIrcbID1Gm2GdgYyNgVK2MOtMmc30qyu1Ik6zSICW9F9Xc1Zv8DeXG2cQ/s320/100_0090.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> A nice Asian man offered to return the favor after I took a picture of him in front of it.<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2v-BRnDbGK1gIJxyWIQ-E3v7R4UW5OdxQ2YgSrBhMOyAIc8sXvjMhyp7ICf4QNbJTxjwHluqg_0PNtwqZ8NDdoe1cgLVQ_UNi2WiG8rx-YrCOjSI8hA14S6lckPToirFOMDrBufp2r8/s1600/100_0095.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461669117619271730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2v-BRnDbGK1gIJxyWIQ-E3v7R4UW5OdxQ2YgSrBhMOyAIc8sXvjMhyp7ICf4QNbJTxjwHluqg_0PNtwqZ8NDdoe1cgLVQ_UNi2WiG8rx-YrCOjSI8hA14S6lckPToirFOMDrBufp2r8/s320/100_0095.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Next stop was the Washington Monument, the Reflecting Pool & Lincoln Memorial.</span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnTMAWKSW23dTZDmmgXeUfuAyfvzXP8_Uu3iZqjgxS9ZY77-qIo_lFArs3W9wEEHiMHsac6iKyrObCwGm3QCqfQVSU-iQuhXHKdksK8IKVNe2hrFc2kHdx90ZRStDvLqRZh7_smVNviI/s1600/100_0096.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461669115722705970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnTMAWKSW23dTZDmmgXeUfuAyfvzXP8_Uu3iZqjgxS9ZY77-qIo_lFArs3W9wEEHiMHsac6iKyrObCwGm3QCqfQVSU-iQuhXHKdksK8IKVNe2hrFc2kHdx90ZRStDvLqRZh7_smVNviI/s320/100_0096.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylXQgPPrymNWtFQLD649jB8hDJQkylY-BeFSx-XpTIJXAcV1VRoeX0itKqptruOpe39vuqp3rkTLbLxiJcG9CbKz0dTpdqxyVBrL2qpuiHIqq4NkN_D5sa00ON2JL-PRTFge6XYszEYE/s1600/100_0101.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461667661224090610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylXQgPPrymNWtFQLD649jB8hDJQkylY-BeFSx-XpTIJXAcV1VRoeX0itKqptruOpe39vuqp3rkTLbLxiJcG9CbKz0dTpdqxyVBrL2qpuiHIqq4NkN_D5sa00ON2JL-PRTFge6XYszEYE/s320/100_0101.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> (The teenager had run out of money for <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">souvenirs</span> in New York, so in order to get something in DC, I said he had to take some nice pictures with us. It almost killed him, but he pulled through.)</span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XeJ4C837dwL1kmlfnFpX2b0vsu1FjkGwRZ7KhPAyrXTcM3DksjZW9xN0v3_bd72NjHy-oCljnulqOaBiAjCgX-8qg2wdkadXhM7vG00TCZb8gWuhYf8uvDji9RXt9gSaP0rVlB7mZE8/s1600/100_0103.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461667653209945906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XeJ4C837dwL1kmlfnFpX2b0vsu1FjkGwRZ7KhPAyrXTcM3DksjZW9xN0v3_bd72NjHy-oCljnulqOaBiAjCgX-8qg2wdkadXhM7vG00TCZb8gWuhYf8uvDji9RXt9gSaP0rVlB7mZE8/s320/100_0103.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLWD02nwqB4_Q5JiW0H0fmEhcKZJBnTmk3OOBXB7GKoZSG7xfFYNsH_1fvYIrcr3N5RUPw6FzNU6TnQ-eJ-K80N2cSh9vWat_Y6x66m3XEsgDnZZHgl7sAzNw3QbjdeJ9Ewk7hmzEW7U/s1600/100_0107.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461667644764195602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLWD02nwqB4_Q5JiW0H0fmEhcKZJBnTmk3OOBXB7GKoZSG7xfFYNsH_1fvYIrcr3N5RUPw6FzNU6TnQ-eJ-K80N2cSh9vWat_Y6x66m3XEsgDnZZHgl7sAzNw3QbjdeJ9Ewk7hmzEW7U/s320/100_0107.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HXg963HuBR_iA_eZrAs7aW4Khb9jFN4UCUL-DCpmqk1ipFvUmG69WNDthQMnXgICOAebrDzWiKn7RgjZ9Ln-zELrOrD-0_pmJFi4gsKhLxs-NBuk-BoWabOW8cuFirz3dwnZ0ctmjpQ/s1600/100_0108.JPG"></a><span style="font-size:130%;">I'm not sure what I expected, but the Lincoln Memorial was a lot bigger than I thought it would be!<br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW34pzD1lFH2dPcS4nVwSV7UVBchyphenhyphenhqMVuFlK1UUt7BijjQmpbYdKr_xXoIWyMj5aUFuuWt1ev3to7RNBwxxWoeNflE9cUnMaAKOPsOlPDmKU3Z_Xi-NROZ6R3scSLb8j-hasOyiYq-t8/s1600/100_0112.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461667627545134434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW34pzD1lFH2dPcS4nVwSV7UVBchyphenhyphenhqMVuFlK1UUt7BijjQmpbYdKr_xXoIWyMj5aUFuuWt1ev3to7RNBwxxWoeNflE9cUnMaAKOPsOlPDmKU3Z_Xi-NROZ6R3scSLb8j-hasOyiYq-t8/s320/100_0112.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> We stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, and then stopped at the Wax Museum to meet some famous people. Thomas Jefferson...</span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLDrhEWcsRBDF7DGHdUCrxO9vDpu36IiGtiGRO9NZiNYI3AkIu625uldTy-uciHI2lvwQ08e7IiwmAA_MFu_K50l8wx0jZuSqMCPBwotnSzGp-d-zRAjfG8W5n79eWJ86_DD46XobfMk/s1600/100_0125.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461666298326419314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLDrhEWcsRBDF7DGHdUCrxO9vDpu36IiGtiGRO9NZiNYI3AkIu625uldTy-uciHI2lvwQ08e7IiwmAA_MFu_K50l8wx0jZuSqMCPBwotnSzGp-d-zRAjfG8W5n79eWJ86_DD46XobfMk/s320/100_0125.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Abraham Lincoln...<br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGU_ajVHDIsQwFTz2JczVyPpjOMMfmx7iQAXAbcU3QarZsz5bKScxNicUi2yp_ZnHyQb46EiTOzgcmCLAsMw009APxzFRPURJ9tS1AZ4yFAs1gT7w_DfWHfXqErLMs0EmhyqUzB5_CAmM/s1600/100_0126.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461666287753399026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGU_ajVHDIsQwFTz2JczVyPpjOMMfmx7iQAXAbcU3QarZsz5bKScxNicUi2yp_ZnHyQb46EiTOzgcmCLAsMw009APxzFRPURJ9tS1AZ4yFAs1gT7w_DfWHfXqErLMs0EmhyqUzB5_CAmM/s320/100_0126.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">George</span> W. Bush...<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcOEgfm3y0PehYgolceDXdC4PJ8B-GuXGX_t0PNZPf7kP-6KCaMvFZg7YHkx3qLMHrm-M3OCkenisVCqCIUai9ENgVNhI_2G4qgOrhyb5fRYBLtqCWWCTsir1Z5rTK3NngUokc5nKcmsg/s1600/100_0128.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461666279538317538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcOEgfm3y0PehYgolceDXdC4PJ8B-GuXGX_t0PNZPf7kP-6KCaMvFZg7YHkx3qLMHrm-M3OCkenisVCqCIUai9ENgVNhI_2G4qgOrhyb5fRYBLtqCWWCTsir1Z5rTK3NngUokc5nKcmsg/s320/100_0128.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Mrs. Kennedy was sweet enough to loan me the fur coat for our photo op.</span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1X9RNrH0hqLl7SoOoxZNxkhBkQVI1L_jEqoaHg0qjUTIlGjXe-dmG1dL7IH6bF5ZcfHTUKQ1rUWxlI2pmsKqEBessJCPakjsf5nsLZ26QmbBb85XBAXnrkGD7iC8IYR6I2FkzPZXE9Jw/s1600/100_0132.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461666272833709714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1X9RNrH0hqLl7SoOoxZNxkhBkQVI1L_jEqoaHg0qjUTIlGjXe-dmG1dL7IH6bF5ZcfHTUKQ1rUWxlI2pmsKqEBessJCPakjsf5nsLZ26QmbBb85XBAXnrkGD7iC8IYR6I2FkzPZXE9Jw/s320/100_0132.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Cameron stopped off the meet Will.<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAi7tg0noLa8fhFQGTDEzoG2hXgwbCdj8LtLjjOnBaD7oIb3uZmNc-OyEE_MseeWFmUKgq-T-gifVVQd0Xd-WDqhtom1KElU80eYkNRpMqFXNC88VIslxUYxsLiueyZ692ROXSAtQ_7KE/s1600/100_0136.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461666266963831138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAi7tg0noLa8fhFQGTDEzoG2hXgwbCdj8LtLjjOnBaD7oIb3uZmNc-OyEE_MseeWFmUKgq-T-gifVVQd0Xd-WDqhtom1KElU80eYkNRpMqFXNC88VIslxUYxsLiueyZ692ROXSAtQ_7KE/s320/100_0136.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><div><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Ben Franklin...<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461664591633243826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtLQ1f6myg0JfEmnQ6wrQy9kU2-PoTZXpR4nGfcUTanedDgoZ8qF4EBJrGJSpKgxULWs3zUU4uQjUw7KpIAP4tzMcI6lK7lV0GqzhXnqpfPYMqlw1gmW16aWUMMoYZwOgWfdm4XLG71DI/s320/100_0124.JPG" />Chris, of course had to stop to see Tiger... </span><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461664600340777506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhimeTA0ENIGHnOcyh0Rmyu1KbRuePdA44zkQILOon_20uhePKcmUMIQO9PAix20ljk0QJIcmrcFLwuqyuJlScem0824XOuJNtoAX_n7r30cNzpw3uZ4xC64QyZD-B4izEjgoZ5ItRaf-8/s320/100_0139.JPG" /> Tyler was <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">willing</span> to pose for this one <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">photo</span>...<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">although</span> I'm having trouble remembering if this was Babe Ruth or not.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461664606344375234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-NmJgTv75U44lHBnLdmBCGpkrE1PnnLlkqFLiMUWpll6btFo52FEZ5Q8MoC9oE-7y77vxGEv4rkKqf-yWoDLpQMAzH_S458AsawB4V5Px-RoWec-_J9Qg9AKPtmXmM8qyuVRoPNwAY0/s320/100_0138.JPG" />I'm not real sure why they had this set up, especially since we got scolded after the picture because I guess nobody was supposed to go behind the podium.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461664614825455506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lCqfgyOZ224DoBN4LzpQAq9VIjnJ69LrzRVrWoPoNkvPnfaUFmvXEtv4jDF8W423ctwdQlZDioF0rpu3UHp4e8rNRSPrEvYvOWC-k68YqwBWZyGP_SP_csDBkHwT4v17yuJ5ET2tfVY/s320/100_0135.JPG" />I stopped to be interviewed by Katie before we left.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461664622952639650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLV2xCjLA9a3YouXxpdDQ9SlukvzzMN-r032wq5XS9oQykMZ6-PspvmE10CwJ3YJ5v4YbxUx6nueo6kUn_trrzgI5zwZFyybWHzFaGdPeG9eoJmGFcWYApMzbX2Xu865GazFhOCq6ppw/s320/100_0140.JPG" />This was pretty much the last fun stop. From here we retrieved the rental car & headed out for our 5 hour drive back up to New York. And it still took 5 hours going back too. We stayed in a different hotel the last night,only to discover that the fact that it was 3 miles away from the original hotel made it outside of Enterprises area in which they would "drop off us" after we returned the car. Our hotel was willing to help us out...until their van got stuck in the Lincoln Tunnel, which ended up being closed both directions because of accidents. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Thankfully, Chris found a cab that brought him to the hotel to pick the boys & I up to head to the airport. And even with the horrible weather, our flight left on time. According to our cab drive, we were very lucky we were flying out of Newark instead of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">LaGuardia</span>, or we would have probably been stranded.</span></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Overall, it was a great vacation! I would recommend it to everyone. The little ones had a great time with Nana & their aunties! I was a little worried about Caleb, since he is the most clingy, but <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Marnee</span> won him over with a Globe Trotters game...he can't resist anything that involves a ball. Maybe we'll get to go back when they are old enough.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-568271484335362652010-03-24T10:32:00.011-05:002010-04-06T12:22:25.020-05:00Day 2 in New York<span style="font-size:130%;">For our second day in New York City, we wanted to see the Statue of Liberty & the Empire State Building. So, we took the bus again from our hotel to the Port Authority.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452402363028736802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4udP97-uWTJjm4NqdDfrSi7IyYErdBp_xu0Lzx08yj1uSfCNp_aJUcN13PEIzu_8AL5PnG18TAKoJRpS4xg28si1PsFaXe02bC1swD7y1Jh_22x53z0yLk3384JvGzm9BR3_hw2O9fpc/s320/IMG_1834.JPG" /></span> <span style="font-size:130%;">The view on Chris' side of the bus was a little better than mine...</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 230px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452402347435090866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uBheeWD_F1W1zasuG8t05NtTuQIqNmD4_MaPXdEO52bjOffoVWiiwuDdgFahXlaG8AvvTRqE-a39QABw4NChqs8MWP_XHbSPXqDXUA4_InANtNplq-3TzOL7OSROyZoO3J3gWSLPgeQ/s320/IMG_1831.JPG" /></span> <span style="font-size:130%;">We took a cab from the Port Authority to the ferry. That ride was pretty uneventful, and in the end, the driver dropped us off at the wrong one. He took us to the terminal for the Staten Island Ferry. It was freezing out, so we stayed for a few minutes to warm up & have a snack. The terminal had a nice view of the Brooklyn Bridge, though.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452402341624468722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAOUqb9c5xuISOm8GelHFHdzH3nkFvjJKzy1-tV7T7sbwMKJWIm72i_tgY94P8MP4049l4mQ93hUjbxhh0WCSCg3ksqh33ueMDVuRZ9eVgKkhTcEpmgmVezIzKX-EFD6YM29XNfzkHBs/s320/IMG_1838.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452398663623970290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tHAMIrHvOCXACtpnyehl6YURtSyjlzh-Yb0BcHaSnez381FsMvyItgEgZXz-JTPge1bQt3VptpwspXltbA2-CSMYfVNece9d3H512c5ctFB4ALf0GI0mwQOexOZ-AQ9f377v6u8AN28/s320/IMG_1859.JPG" />Once we could feel our fingers again, we walked a few blocks to the Ellis Island Ferry, only to find out that not only would it be at least a 2 hour wait, they would only go by the Statue of Liberty, not actually stopping there as their brochure alluded to. So, we opted to enjoy the view of the Statue from shore.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452401231288685522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1OkChiWnSohFjqKd5nIDMzE76csDbNcuNMclw8yEMg2sf8wfXICTkqU09_8UhkX25ghOZtCfBoPdAUejJNCE58wEJT7zPn5AVmVZWv-s5Dse9b5iLqpPD4ZAX4XYIbfOLvwu3YPR54o/s320/100_0033.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452402329533415090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8O6vYrwOkrzD4daNYWz64-OWiVy1ttJ_o63qT8ElNaZLR_wWj90BVSAqtlJpkSlXfB73WCEV9IlzTgbC-XixKkmngQ5ZpYvTdudiRi-VJhuniwtwLpf7g03827Fut1-QJV7A6zbyngg/s320/100_0032.JPG" /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452402334034624226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5dTb9cbVz0GgEZgCwqViPat2ljTxw4mWAVKFUxtniqOq_vF6jVNg0zsUPM3JpRBP1ZoFF3KBZp2kiJE_YF9s5lgDcE6IUAqutgWiBovJ5U1JbuLvqC2aBSjbHuS0MFelkWXPhb74S64/s320/100_0030.JPG" /> </span><span style="font-size:130%;">We took a brisk walk towards Ground Zero after that. Along the way we saw a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">cemetery</span>...while I realize even New York has to have <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">cemeteries</span>, it just seemed a little out of place to me.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452401197143670738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mtSWRBfWC9rPVFSOulscHlMmwNXiRqqmMk-9aflmhi2qzDjaHXs5GC_C40dsxtY3yCUQR9kEjMEmib6YmlZLZzyWaKsM6myGWew-p1PPWXwuvSF5AavFnvTN99BfW62pFhrq3TrQlLc/s320/SUNP0006.JPG" /></span> <span style="font-size:130%;">We also went by Wall Street.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452401215163754402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvw4j_WbFzhxq0agGC0rJIBFDaL1eQ70OpUUcluQXDQZJnrOgNQBCZOXKvvlmezlGUuc5gPemomN1FJ4eL3wfJpn5U4woyfgCT-nEX0hIq0f6WFwKnxLTbg7acvLcBaWXX1YPeIrfyWwQ/s320/IMG_1844.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452401208384086402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gk-A8FzJjQ-pnLv54788nPiHxlVyBHs2QGzhGOnawLhPHvMwuqMzMDfiG11AryRxdjnLS1PtCMk3bNtgRMme-2CzYQ3kT5EqtKpq_CcQIGXWtRrK6IzcTNNuDKIqS3pi-JbJQmRk8ZY/s320/IMG_1846.JPG" /></span> <span style="font-size:130%;">And finally arrived at Ground Zero. It was kind of a surreal feeling, to see it so many years later.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452398690922249778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnddhfgGHuoFlTVGnKhqPYwTDzkly1Om-jNSQyeNZRk8AZQRXJ-tRTMrI2Kh-eQhMp0Ut1ZM3g8FOrgfp-JoQwB-h9vEYPZPI3Th5UBWGR5fXC_4aW0AE8dac_wk3xpGNN68h4fGrQqI/s320/IMG_1854.JPG" /> We took a cab from Ground Zero to the Empire State Building. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452766533869330450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1aEK-Go_cwdiMK-ZMph5GHpWk_PqRcGAeH6n8GT0Do9Fqqv_fAQr3N1kUKba17402k8v-iax96cE5rbLv6ijvQ_NzdnRBg1QNo36Dbd4JCvN6fjVc953tQS1Fszo0z2KJuixvIr8fhbk/s320/101_0020.JPG" />It was just like they show on TV! The driver completely ignored these "Don't Honk" signs, and literally almost ran over the feet of a couple crossing against the light!</span><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 230px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452766522226703938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJU7qfA38xVFmeMmY4TZ0yVx3w2VpixZooBxYxysP6jyDCNKSNmJ_eZ6ySzBFJqZFB1i-YHYEZ-VMRFSQVwOaamd6_HhlNJBqAOgfWCx_L3rN8t7nFYVPjkT0b7DRBS4LqiTLQEKGO2M/s320/101_0022.JPG" /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">While I was in the front seat fearing for my life, Chris & the boys were enjoying the view.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452398682483924370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEAAmuD2EiTQW0M8JAwo84Any8YlStBhemgW9vAzG4xMGugK915hy33VQtMvqmLnEi7_LkEtTcwkWf_bpIBSg1pd1ibLPLdGHloh3-rpicZsomQTN-a04t3cruwEF-T_AaKCDWzc46h8c/s320/IMG_1856.JPG" />Tyler was <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">especially</span> excited...or at least as excited as a 14 year old gets when on vacation with his family.<br /></span><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452398673871543090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOC0Fp1UvEEd_jYX-J35yRb5eEAjPFcJzXOKXAnPel8MXG_KhCgoqJ9Mh4jRx9hq15SK7VLzdLH_cWRaCXwUmL0F3q3hcFizHQdaDY7oHNRcunsSbGS5A-zsCAk9SteGZ-vmj8axMeuQ/s320/IMG_1857.JPG" />Here are some pictures of the Empire State Building when we arrived there & got in line.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452398657540290274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHiUkPk9hfu-uSthrJ4IazB4IWU4ZX3o32ydEddLSO5rkFtPKI1tYCqWBkDqBaAknUrlErZeuB687VtKCBuyV0kPK2VMSxEIQ-YKMTuhA3_Sq1Lguowl8d0q-5DW-_hzGnLzV3Ru85PU/s320/IMG_1861.JPG" /> We took a few pictures inside the building, too, while we waited in line.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452392141141460514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDfiVX9L1_rcn8X1mVjmrqcEnBFD5ILC-DweBN9ZAsyMSMcmOdXaee_2U_mjzxxmth5wkRcODbLqS72Bfp5WRIJkAnK1gm5pmaKHQoixK9g1KUGqijpji0ZKHljNk30IGEi28syK6Cuo/s320/100_0034.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452392178914281650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5-CJiZk-79AHpQs6_rdCQ2w6JprDHtdTZCg1SlOlraCldu30MqlgceICzoZqiLmCh4JLAvyLzdMQHrJSbRbx18AllRo2KrSzJmVjg-kePkDCiVSHw-4atJkcA661NLLQmyvg6BRYpU4/s320/100_0035.JPG" />King Kong even paid a visit.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452392192738042722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yGp7EtS1NBQwhlTMS7QJ7foTrOZfFdFGEAQ69TOoQvuRKcMS90K_5NWDFup3rmycMyQRYli9WitZ_32P6Uggzh2-jZhi4Y9fJwUNd64hMZ5kx-VIO06inGiojELikRxVOgkqZdQsUGo/s320/100_0036.JPG" /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">Finally, after over three hours in line, we got to go up. The view was good...it probably would <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">have</span> been better in daylight, though. It certainly was nothing like they showed on "Sleepless in Seattle"!<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452392211529678226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTg-VWNuaJ2ubnVXPlrTUVooHMlnteNPYPV3po5N474SFTQ3EUUSir1d_Z0s-6F4x4Jj_tw_DahntZ-v941E1qX_k7ypbjh3_s_UqxRPhaVwyEh_v0TPzk6KMknrN8lHAC_OLceyGplGc/s320/SUNP0016.JPG" /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452392205225520098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtZV4iZN1EFKevdgAID4khEE6_83V-lBPDHIXFVt_w-YQmaOW5eDn-PxSFv8Vv6vzKRHPkMy4gfSdegwJzXGVypA4mOWmcYEGujA2avntjUd1plsSGBRddBgGITR7sCbhUSdFUAxOCMU/s320/IMG_1864.JPG" /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">Here's a final picture of the lights right after we came down.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452380014515959954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlg8Da3q9oiLvBUarq7o4jHtK9r2U3G8_gtajtDg9XRWliC1caWvAeLUO8m330t-ii62K9Af_E9LBHxvXJWOK7pN7lliLXT8x0enpxg1nRu22z74-H5k-WIx2XXKf5dNeBz_B74VNSeh4/s320/IMG_1889.JPG" /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">From there, we decided to check out Times Square again, to see it at night.</span></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHbKuUiw_Dn-0CR8YMc52Fl89ehrmbYnD3AIDF1TZCUG3f6apS4Gob5C6IU_Ml78mdHmF2ecRnnatPuttSRrJiZJmtT13xHdJMyBhLve_gzeQHu0lpRxPkZP9u93GklDls_9m5vtL_RM/s1600/IMG_1896.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452380042269196706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHbKuUiw_Dn-0CR8YMc52Fl89ehrmbYnD3AIDF1TZCUG3f6apS4Gob5C6IU_Ml78mdHmF2ecRnnatPuttSRrJiZJmtT13xHdJMyBhLve_gzeQHu0lpRxPkZP9u93GklDls_9m5vtL_RM/s320/IMG_1896.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452380036581161058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBKzIhfD1kNWjNuM-rVZI-4JXdPlovPmpku_pZ0WbjEetkxhEe_8y1z7GhFs1M2Nf3Hz0xrmr8m9NtWW5FsvZC_bq-nvYKM5kt8rOvgfpAd-E8j1i0e1rhyphenhyphenUOSqHhciuuAJakqUrfZBQ/s320/IMG_1893.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452380009081494434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0sAN56BEA5gsg50Rjvx9_tpC8J6-mtjgeHmSpA0RtOjfhDRstpFhoe09wzTA40onXKt-YuNRceumkeyQeprM5856mH8eMETXOe6ZnIjDrockTzkrABWbAC90ga72HGBghn1JUKUEvh8/s320/IMG_1887.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452380025972688450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5smo57BFAHyLU1MzorfZvqyxGlVt_8frdonXO6ZUNF4p-FAIlbC9RY5_wbOwdy1zKjxA4G7TUmthLcwcTPKmkO7e5FvSWa8w0d2BEkq_BB1fWN4xrA5Q5XcyDlFTvzMHspdyzeXhJTU/s320/IMG_1885.JPG" /></span> <div><span style="font-size:130%;">This was the end of our time in New York City. Overall, it was really fun to see, I'm glad we decided to take the boys there. But there were just way too many people for me - I don't know how people can live there! Next stop...Washington DC.</span></div>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-57223830678708449372010-03-01T21:08:00.008-06:002010-03-03T19:06:25.032-06:00New York, New York<div><div><span xmlns=""><span style="font-size:130%;">We decided to go on a vacation this year with just Tyler & Cameron. We started out thinking if we waited to take them to Disney World until the little kids were old enough, they would be too old to enjoy it. But after remembering that neither one of them is really into rides and such that maybe Disney World was not the ideal place, so the four of us agreed that New York City would be fun, and we could drive down to Washington DC for a day, too.<br /></span><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;">The original plan was to drive there, but that was re-thought when my sister told me about some very inexpensive flights to New York, which sounded a whole lot better than driving for 2 days each way! We were really starting to wonder if we made a mistake, however, when we starting hearing the weather forecast for the day we were flying out. So much so, that we even purchased trip insurance since all of our hotel rooms were non-refundable. </span><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">The plan was to leave on Christmas Day and return on New Year's Eve. I took our 5 kids up to my sister's on Christmas Eve but Chris had to wait until Christmas Day, as the respite care we had lined up for the 3 foster boys we have wasn't available until then. Christmas Day morning he got stuck in the driveway of the couple doing the respite care for us, and once he got pushed out, he averaged about 30 MPH on the freeway in the freezing rain. About a half an hour before my sister was going to drop the boys & I off at the airport, a car got stuck at the bottom of her driveway and it was looking like we might not be able to get out. But we did all manage to get to the airport in plenty of time for our flight. If the flight was able to get off the ground, of course.<br /></span></p><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Not only did our flight leave from Minneapolis, we also had a connection in Chicago, and with snow & freezing rain <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">forecasted</span> in both cities, we were not certain we would make it there until that second plane took off from Chicago. Amazingly, we made it, without more than a 20 minute delay. Since it was after 11 pm by the time we arrived, we got to the hotel & went to bed. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></div></span><div><span style="font-size:130%;">As luck would have it, I woke up the next day with a horrible migraine. So we just took it easy that day & hung around the hotel. I think it was very needed, especially given the amount of walking we would be doing the rest of the trip!<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Our hotel was actually in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Secausus</span>, New Jersey, literally right next door to the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Meadowlands</span>, so we took the bus into "the city" the next morning. (That is if you use the technically definition of morning being any time before noon since we did have a teenager with us.) We were dropped off at the Port Authority and armed with a map of NYC started walking.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">It didn't take very long before we came upon our fist street performer. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443869250517525362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9VU3s3LH5CsEbu-VbBREhTjevxUUFczkQRvzSByLIbNadYJRPPoQLgFEZkpzzzhSV5Z9_3r4KCziK2k7WjWbQdHrJlnxXSEuwZLwjyFtf532kJt3aNyudjW7TPENk0HsRkjyGiNoY4o/s320/354.JPG" /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">We also saw some celebrity's...</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443869258599252162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZxGBq5ioIxMuKe0H373Hl4-flYZQJsWTU5bnesYKqNJCEHDJlEnfVjIV292vMJyCSsheasPU5OkhA0Eg3ifqXOqcgy-OYlh2R27jt06ZhfEUNZ47bhUa6ftcD5oAtyeL5OPWZH4H2xs/s320/459.JPG" /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">We meandered to Times Square and Central Park. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444483913689520530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj67R8E7WE936iBxRBk3Xy-yNIMBoguW9wacnRagskXFToywv7e8SYxf4LLN1mcKA1Z6CQEkn-_nc51R30po9uPRXdFnq85PYUVLvOx4Q34wttGUV7vIjEs0gXs2XmPeRlTBL7xYTRdD08/s320/IMG_1771.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444464418729697378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxY7oHNFUhLYf_H-B5hNCtVqM1-hkIwdEBsVcfx8BgbSgKw0vxSzvPnkJcBQnMfsZ3Z8nI_0H7zkT2XxdXaAaKjmMHxeZRPT7TRufPr3T4PNpIEL5qKDMrHwy5NKe4AwJg4A2k0eSjj9U/s320/IMG_1769.JPG" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444464408115968882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGSrWwiQl7TtuQteajpHulCuh5CYCyTL2NixQQTSwDO8edQ0iVIpqssYPbbjemURAkhPMLh78kKnvepEHEK0grgFI1OXDxITToEA28aF3gBYdo8AbEwgXg20Om6luQyyP6j64bQghGpfk/s320/IMG_1774.JPG" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444464393599527906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio76py6PmklJiZ1YgsP7WTHeS3Q5nSbUeZnG4Xvl412XutzpphvE0oWr8uKJFNfeI4tPbp6XsT_ofljptL5TVYko6_r76KZdlqR8PqADfUDjNl8ghJ1S7-RGPBjEBCB5y9VURcrqmF3Tk/s320/101_0006.JPG" /> </span><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444454570984637778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzejXZ_2ks_BPLhOlj-WiM_p4T34gzrhR5GLXR7K6Mfi2lwnRAMgM7cslYjVG__Jaeqh4zzr6NmkqzNNCgSLBq0MHs4rZ3CgbNrI66WJlC8Kdfp78BF0gElxl8h_dLpprqJ5BjN9zV2A/s320/008.JPG" /> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444483932323736386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOkGGbC9aad6M-qtuMITpoDjXqudY72nnbRhsWxaLaV08U1sL-NkzdHSZjR-SerWQOvsSZAK9HSphyphenhyphen_mv1nzq2LNQK06KCpzY5vWPWscCzL_Bi5zPmCR_0L776MMtKjuYPFUmg9urg-Uw/s320/IMG_1786.JPG" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444454553766961698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV314QmvETI96Sqt5r_jZ_6e82Kwnv3pJfuES8cw8iINpgKcy_RVi7lu8h_P8Gh78jjJfMxo0V6LUY3hiMP71zv7eNJ9TGGXDEpNVIZl7id0AvR2PeHAgBPtbi6hl2x5Z_YoBtdjxUMkU/s320/SUNP0028.JPG" /></span><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;">We also had to see David Letterman's studio (although he was on vacation),<br /></span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 323px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 254px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443869267089956242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdcnmVkm-86uzfSZl62PXVZeKQE8s0oP3_CSK62IAZ-s9rH1fVu3reFRXwfRUTteLaIz6byeSNcoloXWyK0O20Ga08vF1D3TBWm49xfbCCQVImqjt6ikh95PBJ6IzLhus_oblWNevgQZg/s320/496.JPG" /></span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;">The Hello Deli was also closed...they must go on vacation the same time that Dave does.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444483920625016002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxVqqVajUHrg5piXqJx7o8PesABV53WfLvxEAcSlpK137Ejeux5YZ2xj9KXzJwh50fjNpaNbK_fSresd8s5wuYQDfKRWHqQnj8qmA7mhofkZFIbMcLWWRNwM69_5yjIdcNR4ifoVofWI/s320/IMG_1777.JPG" />Next was Rockefeller Plaza and the Trump Tower. </span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444454587814367874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYCRrhVkTyaGzD4sC4qn0DyTG4UuZ8B6Ril1Hb9jzCO0nraA4rKFEUvEdfB6xJBDekp_Me4DgrDki2Ea_Rl8YavraubT3Q3MVAMfcqW3GNGR_Y_KP6xV4Viqj4bcXAUq-IbqrgmpUHFQ/s320/101_0016.JPG" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 234px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444464429578746386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDC9tk_m6rN9Jkld42kuI1BIMtRI1UfAHwKwVH03zdJFayVCP4DjZRy9s02TbAp33N-XxV7BeXCNdpnmy9Lch6Be_k4P5_CHuc-SXnyAbvSdLNITDz7l8tYEVCCR1xv0YvdVihtlVK7CU/s320/IMG_1807.JPG" /></span><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443869273121613458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_YSGlXHDbfhBe33rWgApOGBlcCy5aPuKHy3ueoFO3wvqTQC6vhxTaghfhCM-UsMywH7kukodRkTSJ3TdqkiCJsbjWN6RaywiKFqG8OQRjNR1xnPA0MgOAvg6Ta_4lTu0vSsV5E49VBA/s320/579.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443869279495328274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0POoRsFiZ3Wt4rNNs7DdokVX4Y1oMZPSp9WYl1OlGGCFxch0RaLzMStCrqKn2tIRFpaR-7SVt308tCQt9XZTVqQOrfGi2OA1Jqlhyw1a4rIeWfBcaASxOC1DzmMXlC0Pwk0PwgkxeYU/s320/581.JPG" />After dinner at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">TGI</span> Friday's we checked out Ripley's Believe It or Not.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444483951462502482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71ABgBP00shpv6ckR6o0qeybw3o_84KYB78bLcorqnjIPY5BG5H2LCJBSH4XzSUZKhMEo6DPvoYsVmjltwDzw5Nc4ufJG1j8O14jz4cVpEGI5MAytDQE9T_zTRe6kWG8tenMwhURI4kU/s320/IMG_1826.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444483943771978530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9FrnF4EUkFKuZs9VfZKcq8fMlXy6cmGElIBSTVmm3QFItktNg5nmR07QuTaLRsbbT63MEwiW8vI7uUKcUYfid9GnMXA0TcRpMI6Us3gsm-ZlNai0tVrf9vxsBHMVW5avBbuQNu95AFkw/s320/IMG_1821.JPG" /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">And, finally, we found our way back to the Port Authority to catch our ride back to the hotel to rest our legs for day 2 in NYC.<br /></span></p></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-61068226502327581552010-01-28T20:24:00.009-06:002010-02-08T19:27:52.026-06:00Christmas 2009<span style="font-size:130%;">In November, we had 3 little boys placed with us, Dillan, 1, Nicholas, 2 & Elliot, 3. It made for a very busy Christmas. We did include them in our annual Christmas picture. We take it every year with everybody who is living with us at the time. Getting six kids 4 & under to all look at the camera is hard enough, we don't even worry about smiles! I guess Buddy, our dog, was not happy that he was not originally invited to be in the picture, so he posed himself.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLwOo8Ljnt2OqO-NKC4gLZvN9YQMFmr4Pa_dmxXeJb53OO_HvSZkyKGXZyE7Rkdzeys5wx4VN4C2T5ypz78QXB4aWp6xQl7Xb60nL4EV8VIowKfBQPo-_TIuYm1HJpOydYr1LISKKTZQ/s1600-h/007.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431986506928790594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLwOo8Ljnt2OqO-NKC4gLZvN9YQMFmr4Pa_dmxXeJb53OO_HvSZkyKGXZyE7Rkdzeys5wx4VN4C2T5ypz78QXB4aWp6xQl7Xb60nL4EV8VIowKfBQPo-_TIuYm1HJpOydYr1LISKKTZQ/s320/007.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> You can just see the excitement in the room (the teenager was not <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">ecstatic</span> about being waken up before noon.)<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyKMW6sFU_7Y2Tz8skmNRinSc40dQB3f31eaMYs_zpKyHLOOJSu6DQT3V9TvknenpyYoEb-5g4e1fkO1gk84KDw5r0RpwQHfXDgDRP_X0IWdXLZvYIpXcZ4KEZMMiXvWH5GcVgtdkcI0/s1600-h/015.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431986498796009266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyKMW6sFU_7Y2Tz8skmNRinSc40dQB3f31eaMYs_zpKyHLOOJSu6DQT3V9TvknenpyYoEb-5g4e1fkO1gk84KDw5r0RpwQHfXDgDRP_X0IWdXLZvYIpXcZ4KEZMMiXvWH5GcVgtdkcI0/s320/015.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> He did perk up a little bit once the stockings were distributed.<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAb5xuIMjr-1dttZjH8vGaLK_3bj85ihvoejONW8PUdER3DvB-8IKeQmq5k5PBVQH0RsNk8Fy8XtF25GKz-M9Zgon67FBALu4BhPt88Oao1ak71KupzSysKgTByOVByYD0vrMBwPnpsj0/s1600-h/016.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431986491579934066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAb5xuIMjr-1dttZjH8vGaLK_3bj85ihvoejONW8PUdER3DvB-8IKeQmq5k5PBVQH0RsNk8Fy8XtF25GKz-M9Zgon67FBALu4BhPt88Oao1ak71KupzSysKgTByOVByYD0vrMBwPnpsj0/s320/016.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrVd0gzQGSUHD6SWWFEoWjFgvABj_xX6uz_KgxT_0VMZTIaAcvhkJJkc2DwtrcF2qDD9Tr1p-SitaCJhCtnNedfRDUcFi7swrgdeWKnX_5BxDzDBZlyNK80bsy_u6l_BWw3OpeDE3gg8/s1600-h/017.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431985639142052866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrVd0gzQGSUHD6SWWFEoWjFgvABj_xX6uz_KgxT_0VMZTIaAcvhkJJkc2DwtrcF2qDD9Tr1p-SitaCJhCtnNedfRDUcFi7swrgdeWKnX_5BxDzDBZlyNK80bsy_u6l_BWw3OpeDE3gg8/s320/017.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDDQnSsLXIwD_DFSGs42TU91xAHXEYm-Ok22v-KoPQlrWaYLchj45pyESi2-K7bugmsmdSAP8hnX3UVLGL42sU7ynFIZKVPaajyr76Pm8bK0XAIlnOXmGuMznm3hWmyH8z9fuOHU-mk0/s1600-h/018.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431985624181713106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDDQnSsLXIwD_DFSGs42TU91xAHXEYm-Ok22v-KoPQlrWaYLchj45pyESi2-K7bugmsmdSAP8hnX3UVLGL42sU7ynFIZKVPaajyr76Pm8bK0XAIlnOXmGuMznm3hWmyH8z9fuOHU-mk0/s320/018.JPG" /></span></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQ3GSlorWPfnlagti_s7wjc2ZV34GY0ucRi6McclTq6bbtd3vNkcHZfyc7g8CFFjhe4Xlxt5nUq4eNOUd6tTdiGTnCYUc2qk6T1M3QGwaS17yUIJQ7RCq2Blr4xmxu6EKkWQlyJc9lEI/s1600-h/019.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431985620037263778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQ3GSlorWPfnlagti_s7wjc2ZV34GY0ucRi6McclTq6bbtd3vNkcHZfyc7g8CFFjhe4Xlxt5nUq4eNOUd6tTdiGTnCYUc2qk6T1M3QGwaS17yUIJQ7RCq2Blr4xmxu6EKkWQlyJc9lEI/s320/019.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcDg_MlP_EbSa18UpXrihryPYuNHr9wyRFmtecGucn8FDa4jVjF0cLVFE9a2gFK3W2d6qeU7XbUF0VS90sMdsjdfDGrgebpGoLAidduZRzdiWozvJ1HAYzZ89lDnzIFc2WHU_otQy5R0/s1600-h/021.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431985604723268194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcDg_MlP_EbSa18UpXrihryPYuNHr9wyRFmtecGucn8FDa4jVjF0cLVFE9a2gFK3W2d6qeU7XbUF0VS90sMdsjdfDGrgebpGoLAidduZRzdiWozvJ1HAYzZ89lDnzIFc2WHU_otQy5R0/s320/021.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> Poor <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Dillan</span>...his parents refuse to let me cut the back of his hair! I am only allowed to "maintain" his current style - if you can even call it that!<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cdhkuP5yFA2dx_kvS_85rayXvkhbGTNvs9NRNrC2GhOfgfqE2D2os5hs9t3xzt7eu5FhunHPqbyEKtSaaePnYodWZhADjA-m1G3IFYx5cA6f6oUtlOOXiE56Z0RPXRQJG5AdGf6OelE/s1600-h/022.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431984917625086258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cdhkuP5yFA2dx_kvS_85rayXvkhbGTNvs9NRNrC2GhOfgfqE2D2os5hs9t3xzt7eu5FhunHPqbyEKtSaaePnYodWZhADjA-m1G3IFYx5cA6f6oUtlOOXiE56Z0RPXRQJG5AdGf6OelE/s320/022.JPG" /></span></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">He wasn't as interested in his stocking as he was the gifts.<br /><br /></span><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH16uZlo8FHEchkvWivqk4Fa6vf4qR8P33MmOtbVOF97INFo3sOsQ5XyFxvFTZtqLsmBo0aLl8CHu1tTwT6O73s8EPxOX93C5UoKqiNcb8w8jYxLLZL7vjxI8IRn8xivA7SsB4Xn7KDFM/s1600-h/025.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431984890839981666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH16uZlo8FHEchkvWivqk4Fa6vf4qR8P33MmOtbVOF97INFo3sOsQ5XyFxvFTZtqLsmBo0aLl8CHu1tTwT6O73s8EPxOX93C5UoKqiNcb8w8jYxLLZL7vjxI8IRn8xivA7SsB4Xn7KDFM/s320/025.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNECVb7jBRCQr_lW0pYLMWYCIaBI-pYN7DQkMde8Q_zRK9GgDgAyjaK_wtWX_RzWcIkzVs-i7o9wlRwaAMEveIHhMpx4tRZpjbDpn0oNYg5s46nMUdd-4yUlWK7jR8w7GUaLt-4NRbLM/s1600-h/027.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431984336130373698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNECVb7jBRCQr_lW0pYLMWYCIaBI-pYN7DQkMde8Q_zRK9GgDgAyjaK_wtWX_RzWcIkzVs-i7o9wlRwaAMEveIHhMpx4tRZpjbDpn0oNYg5s46nMUdd-4yUlWK7jR8w7GUaLt-4NRbLM/s320/027.JPG" /></span></a><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOtB59DOtCeqJ-9iuw2L9Cz0i2eWI0RrR1RS492g23BL5crWdTuAHQHasS2TAYpZdmx-l9lyxKtFAtlekx7_J1h6GbIGxGxh65kbINHqOi7QXYU238xHId6ZBUg-ucofehgmVfEtr9WQ/s1600-h/029.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431984313328280034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOtB59DOtCeqJ-9iuw2L9Cz0i2eWI0RrR1RS492g23BL5crWdTuAHQHasS2TAYpZdmx-l9lyxKtFAtlekx7_J1h6GbIGxGxh65kbINHqOi7QXYU238xHId6ZBUg-ucofehgmVfEtr9WQ/s320/029.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLjiW7wL_RxYDIRa6hEYCL-jEMa0CM2qUx6WQPEgTECxIgGu7lQcKkdzuSiueb-gPg9nHtm39etWtpr7YsuF-610Wd2cQNs4x2SgySQHN7qkjO8dshxY3F5aqNd9MWNE9fsVYuoTLDPM/s1600-h/030.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431984303730976322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLjiW7wL_RxYDIRa6hEYCL-jEMa0CM2qUx6WQPEgTECxIgGu7lQcKkdzuSiueb-gPg9nHtm39etWtpr7YsuF-610Wd2cQNs4x2SgySQHN7qkjO8dshxY3F5aqNd9MWNE9fsVYuoTLDPM/s320/030.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> Santa finally got smart this year, and all of the little kids received a handheld game of some sort from him. (The first month the boys were here they all <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">fought</span> over Amata's <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Leapster</span>). Since Amata already had one, she got a text to learn thing & Dylan got a drawing toy since he didn't really know how to play one; the others either got a v-tech pocket or a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Leapster</span>. The older boys got smaller gifts in addition to the cash they got to spend on our vacation.</span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuld0tRCVY1ytd1Dh2cevfEhxp7umRDoyem8vC5ZN_ztukQ5m7p94lW41NBFzc5Bj7vDQxKJs8mr5h3MpdAAWkOcXcMOrQm2gOFgNsKyVQN_duHjfX01pAkNCaqwQhiBhM3MipbXcBG6o/s1600-h/031.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431984298271150514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuld0tRCVY1ytd1Dh2cevfEhxp7umRDoyem8vC5ZN_ztukQ5m7p94lW41NBFzc5Bj7vDQxKJs8mr5h3MpdAAWkOcXcMOrQm2gOFgNsKyVQN_duHjfX01pAkNCaqwQhiBhM3MipbXcBG6o/s320/031.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqaueV1N0ALrJ7H2d3-i9-0uXaiHHjwDLdAcdXfK85pXkFO7RQfgMPo-vfuRvNEMuuImjB_NCfBnOnh8XhAJbyrb_FmS6377q_8_ap2JcQPjarPDa3wWh2ttEGxjsq4IyIpI9vi1DLBgg/s1600-h/034.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431983580161263506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqaueV1N0ALrJ7H2d3-i9-0uXaiHHjwDLdAcdXfK85pXkFO7RQfgMPo-vfuRvNEMuuImjB_NCfBnOnh8XhAJbyrb_FmS6377q_8_ap2JcQPjarPDa3wWh2ttEGxjsq4IyIpI9vi1DLBgg/s320/034.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6nJZbyZisk1JrWhpml7h63GJdC7rpC9RgrcrQa0Rh7w1aaR447Gr_MUOZmIzMXBnPRMNx0SvAf6nEkrsgMtSfoulnJXI27BO6Ev3YptnJ1uq90_E3202ykq78HYY1kz3oRkq1aa7Ub0/s1600-h/035.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431983572573565970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6nJZbyZisk1JrWhpml7h63GJdC7rpC9RgrcrQa0Rh7w1aaR447Gr_MUOZmIzMXBnPRMNx0SvAf6nEkrsgMtSfoulnJXI27BO6Ev3YptnJ1uq90_E3202ykq78HYY1kz3oRkq1aa7Ub0/s320/035.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmYL7jAP08sJnmdmyZRuraNsO1dpXn7-WRhX455ZTwxo1-GHPCDnakjg5Z_tBmCSGopGr6-6jCiKj_o3SC0kjIOeQdJx-lb6MqyaELvFpfe-HbVS33n9BZ7leil9oM-YrZilUfwEqxSQ/s1600-h/036.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431983570136624306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmYL7jAP08sJnmdmyZRuraNsO1dpXn7-WRhX455ZTwxo1-GHPCDnakjg5Z_tBmCSGopGr6-6jCiKj_o3SC0kjIOeQdJx-lb6MqyaELvFpfe-HbVS33n9BZ7leil9oM-YrZilUfwEqxSQ/s320/036.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wrIKQOmNeb9y26OaFPz26A7hNJEDCvYfGBszLRgy1EY8HFTAcqpgafsldjhLOZVQ_HytO1U9n-eysWMsX6xHU0Oo2jRViSU1caYshHjC_lOAQon5PhlZCpdpueU5gf_O4cv8T_M-Fhk/s1600-h/037.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431982840627815842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wrIKQOmNeb9y26OaFPz26A7hNJEDCvYfGBszLRgy1EY8HFTAcqpgafsldjhLOZVQ_HytO1U9n-eysWMsX6xHU0Oo2jRViSU1caYshHjC_lOAQon5PhlZCpdpueU5gf_O4cv8T_M-Fhk/s320/037.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjch8Va3mTFsVTnfrSz1bPagFC2ThNKOUSrjTvOHTeKRLtYV5f7V9_2iuZA5rRQSWvn7uc0SQXHB435wIEXhd9C7h5JVAtQHXJyX967e7ZaQ5DqNvX8zzgsQRRYSacypgk2EPNw359sHlE/s1600-h/038.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431982834916241186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjch8Va3mTFsVTnfrSz1bPagFC2ThNKOUSrjTvOHTeKRLtYV5f7V9_2iuZA5rRQSWvn7uc0SQXHB435wIEXhd9C7h5JVAtQHXJyX967e7ZaQ5DqNvX8zzgsQRRYSacypgk2EPNw359sHlE/s320/038.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIzdoqW9Ci7l3b5ayovyq1hqFYaAkoMwlMDERoJaDjq2elWXkTpBmI5G23YKYXdHAyQZu5v0TGo8gc1oMDWrhKpUlM178Td_GXr69ak67jIJK2Agrwc2CpdCvhoJg23qX7htBt7P_WmE/s1600-h/039.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431982821440944834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIzdoqW9Ci7l3b5ayovyq1hqFYaAkoMwlMDERoJaDjq2elWXkTpBmI5G23YKYXdHAyQZu5v0TGo8gc1oMDWrhKpUlM178Td_GXr69ak67jIJK2Agrwc2CpdCvhoJg23qX7htBt7P_WmE/s320/039.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGC1b0f7OoP79-poBFXv4z7Zqm10wXqsqTf0ZBs3hYAhVitoMGOjLH7xTjmoFY0bIX7Uy4PjSjqX4ZyT88c0GPYwf-RRbnnEdrx8tO0awnl28QqlUKuY3BiuJoLkDunTb0ehxM9uF3jo/s1600-h/040.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431982812299220082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGC1b0f7OoP79-poBFXv4z7Zqm10wXqsqTf0ZBs3hYAhVitoMGOjLH7xTjmoFY0bIX7Uy4PjSjqX4ZyT88c0GPYwf-RRbnnEdrx8tO0awnl28QqlUKuY3BiuJoLkDunTb0ehxM9uF3jo/s320/040.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span> <div><span style="font-size:130%;">Amata's favorite gift by far was her new outfit for dance. She literally wore it all day long...in the car on the way to the Cities (everybody in the gas station we stopped at to go potty loved it, too) to church that night & through dinner & gift opening at her auntie <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Marnee's</span>!</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431982801742937874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0EGsunkFedZ5mKPOkMZ1DEnkTTZPuVXFLUelfmms9LAoqj00jWNtqdakLux5KB8N1byLMeDl1unrx94SD9nEg-e8YSfUUr_vQUWuGZPyNTk9a-FwWHDg4589fBPyrHrj5ACZQKPfUu8/s320/041.JPG" /></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-61891236931201101422010-01-28T19:51:00.011-06:002010-02-08T19:01:22.062-06:00Halloween 2009<span style="font-size:130%;">The kids had fun getting ready for <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Halloween</span>. They are getting old enough to actually help with the pumpkin carving. They all got to pick out their own this year. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431981804784350578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfi0-yUzzadBZBtn9fDtG5PLqbgpGKv0IR5_QycQw5u60Agh6DLVa6ljIlLiYTZqRLLb8x_KFwJLHjG1Tc5e7jlJ2VEisRJvyBpy-pbhbPTBuawurLxnObIu_mIO4ou8T8UuYQRBq1O0/s320/181.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431981781714963890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nY3pNsdFcL9fTMN_TAI1PqUMMACI5yAsIqvqsaZ9yqG_c7_r3QFpcWhSpK559r9IGhj6DWjbuaSiYfNjbcEYV-HElAj1vONiPsU4bzfQlh33hYcwMjivuyaERo6xZeI4JlEj31Miq1I/s320/183.JPG" /> I think Cameron picked the biggest one they had!</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431981796021911314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCGaZBNmZK1UFjHCrvb9z4sImO4ykQuBeNALcptvI-2qg_zJ1bY-R4sRsCR2L1irexLUER0ySkNktaGhxips7HnNEOr7YKU04WrCrtYL63qoAqVBxrg21TsBs28C30MoZaaFlxB5S59cY/s320/182.JPG" /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Baylee</span> made sure to finish her pizza first.</span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431981095519946226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMyHZlJw6N1ZG_SC8XsE8njS5Pu2Odey-LrD13SCRmHcQwry-bpLpPG4hNuVcBIetB1eUbpLEIRcO_GjhIEZv60MLe8wK45wqC5c-5w_pjdtcIbBGpRaAgUfy3lnEZd74MjAWkkO2iaw/s320/186.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431980244314211378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwG10zcvpXA_e0phb7g-4geqeYdO1CguiSoCi0fCB-vIzNtsLrxLhXx7zr7suARahD6Zs6bdEJrhsb3BxFhr7CjPvU6ZnFsvgTsAJDIh6ChYHD0Ih4ikfAAr9eYiW_0rIWXIBrYc_hKe8/s320/194.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431981102047433250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1Hgxee30EYvq_1yGK9s_QslbIpn3bwzF5q6whJt87WYoXkmq4GaCaMGAV2r1cf8Y02tlAy7F5NMRWCtiSoFz93rGQh8DdcZToSyfc8j5xb0ppvN2fkD_iY7J-a4r-lAxZ3ONuSbOnto/s320/187.JPG" /></span> <span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431981115013824834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dPjrjSk0yIwhF_6iu1uhK_SC3ZmX_sCiOFIDbrUzwQwby0gE3Z05gj_ijSujUcc4jstrifs8a1T6u8aJiFSqKs9iC8N7uczk2gW3aiZCoyQDsekpkANiA7b5WMikwJEwNSKZn6MaFaA/s320/185.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431977970678173378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywPBb_O2yJiLeCgnAhsaIywP5cbS9GFba_U7ptij6f_UUVy_ZkE78NxIAEpf1ip2Er9L8eTEHTINMXQ6q934hZ2kpUPUFVQ6hUeHp2ysD8Tt_j5OT1UFeYvo3BapvWpdXxQBITBW3YVA/s320/195.JPG" />Yummy!<br /></span><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431980280539444674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7iXAt5_9DfNOdcYgdVU2Agqg_tRfYuzNbsYBBAdqgUS7NNVCHQd4DVWQxHiy4MXD26vYjY_a9fYnbDr0tP4RjUaivAb6oKwTq-k5tZrXeyjDzrYaEsjt_QfvwUKHH6fnAy86J2Mf-vw0/s320/189.JPG" />The teenager was thoroughly enjoying the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">pumpkin</span> carving activities...<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431981809495693682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DSdXa4psrIgH0gOPzoDbj1SnTMOJ0npzwo2N98fo1-ss7gF0yc3RMvu1ir0CXHwHt2n6lsrZyzdGnDG0jPpQUU_RsYKFLgQIdnoz0dlDzmp0gZedjw23ZjNZ9kgz1jCbyd1pSt-aniw/s320/161.JPG" /> Long after the little ones finished their <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">pumpkins</span>, Cameron was still hard at work.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiN_r-zLr6bQhRN6YCxV42fSUjU-2Kt08MicY2VRtQyo6AaFLvRFPFa1puGN4GmT-yT-PCEiwzauuW1EGNk1EbF8Z5s3HBsfYnxmJaGnvdmLkfG9u_BN8JOIR14xUr7iIr1CshS5gkIaI/s1600-h/184.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431981119122975186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiN_r-zLr6bQhRN6YCxV42fSUjU-2Kt08MicY2VRtQyo6AaFLvRFPFa1puGN4GmT-yT-PCEiwzauuW1EGNk1EbF8Z5s3HBsfYnxmJaGnvdmLkfG9u_BN8JOIR14xUr7iIr1CshS5gkIaI/s320/184.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431977939734634994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRS9YE7V8f4GQFQzXCmiKY59ehHiem9lrLGI4IIJ6r9FWM_xtIZVPEf_c30ttSboUq25F1gTdBVA_mix2rvn_ARQnhF8mE010h77L-5AZU5ptKPlGCXyyvoCeJhzDxfEct_zDloyhVrl4/s320/198.JPG" />But the end result was worth it for him:<br /></span><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6NPk3LqpgAgdyk76rSed3P2HtJhcbIAqVVKSErpbNpbjC1v3FitQOUJmp9wllx2QsfUTKVkP1CB3KsXrtMkRDM-sG2Iw5i85UEfUNy2BnxwQwjdOnjitS8BK8E7EXkAYiBbyhyqkbMM/s1600-h/199.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431977935034177874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6NPk3LqpgAgdyk76rSed3P2HtJhcbIAqVVKSErpbNpbjC1v3FitQOUJmp9wllx2QsfUTKVkP1CB3KsXrtMkRDM-sG2Iw5i85UEfUNy2BnxwQwjdOnjitS8BK8E7EXkAYiBbyhyqkbMM/s320/199.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> Time to get ready for trick-or-treating...Amata was tired of waiting.</span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgum2i1F9ODNq81j6IpbOYg1f52c_glXBvRg4V-sRIQLdW7X_sRbH0JoMbFE1VGIKqAosiD5_s4zxQ6RtDNChJoaffayQ4KjBtZ7c2lzYNrHO9wYv8yMtAfyzo-9rSEUYQxdxlK0QkyaAU/s1600-h/215.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431975613637457842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgum2i1F9ODNq81j6IpbOYg1f52c_glXBvRg4V-sRIQLdW7X_sRbH0JoMbFE1VGIKqAosiD5_s4zxQ6RtDNChJoaffayQ4KjBtZ7c2lzYNrHO9wYv8yMtAfyzo-9rSEUYQxdxlK0QkyaAU/s320/215.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> <br /></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsw26UGQCjr-Mf9jW_JQNTdzupm-lAOUVNRygGgL4jPMbjjTwGttz4O9Y8Tydytn185swqyIggdBPP09yju1ltvUk2aVwJaVrIgN8mJbRnA4i6yu5ic7ZbvpnOd88wuXUf10GrNB2U3gM/s1600-h/218.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431975599822292706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsw26UGQCjr-Mf9jW_JQNTdzupm-lAOUVNRygGgL4jPMbjjTwGttz4O9Y8Tydytn185swqyIggdBPP09yju1ltvUk2aVwJaVrIgN8mJbRnA4i6yu5ic7ZbvpnOd88wuXUf10GrNB2U3gM/s320/218.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yn8cogx_4Cv9XsNR984uvuRp9_U16IoW95C-sctbMwH3Aipz1o_vl6syDaOEYQFZ9_ylmGS9daHC6L7GL2wthYQML_a6M_VzNtSfLPRB5-7_FdzWFQAR9z0qdg682Lv4wpEip8cANtY/s1600-h/219.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431975593808027842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yn8cogx_4Cv9XsNR984uvuRp9_U16IoW95C-sctbMwH3Aipz1o_vl6syDaOEYQFZ9_ylmGS9daHC6L7GL2wthYQML_a6M_VzNtSfLPRB5-7_FdzWFQAR9z0qdg682Lv4wpEip8cANtY/s320/219.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46g1vrlXaV_bf3-Oucj4WVbhsy59vlXsvykpqmtX1E1hn7ABN9r5P-ARnViZMvNc8iLODDJaRKFpqncBvoADTP_FUytMXVmp8vHFS7gh0XSR0pHN7VVV5HVerOW_9f7wAQ8y98EUMNdc/s1600-h/220.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431975576553939794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46g1vrlXaV_bf3-Oucj4WVbhsy59vlXsvykpqmtX1E1hn7ABN9r5P-ARnViZMvNc8iLODDJaRKFpqncBvoADTP_FUytMXVmp8vHFS7gh0XSR0pHN7VVV5HVerOW_9f7wAQ8y98EUMNdc/s320/220.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjbma2Ytcqh4-PRRSa3Tl_olJ3RTTgDX1Xxup9gjL9Gp2z67_z3TjL3b3Bu9tmY3A_dfUqiRD9PGhVs_NVnPVaQxkaT8ZPpRWTyxi11Tkzavepgm_-fVNSax4NUH-8Rp7qkjM4hFap8hk/s1600-h/222.JPG"></a><div><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZa-AfUXjNw6moekcNETF3XLgcdhWK3niN_zxZYhocPjnRMWYKcoLayERO2B7cc7gXD42dvicmeBvSUNeJo5s_EtXp1yIhEqlJqVf9QGDflmMoBenYOP6gLv76xZX0MgCZ4wPTDg4OxeA/s1600-h/229.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431974200020314994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZa-AfUXjNw6moekcNETF3XLgcdhWK3niN_zxZYhocPjnRMWYKcoLayERO2B7cc7gXD42dvicmeBvSUNeJo5s_EtXp1yIhEqlJqVf9QGDflmMoBenYOP6gLv76xZX0MgCZ4wPTDg4OxeA/s320/229.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidcdkrfJmBkXMjaWJWXF1cDdO9jj_YnFbH7VkYTnk2mfJ-Tv1A9uwjvkDJdw1mXncX-F2B8B3sr0BEjoSW4u3oRZaLtaBRxefAY93Dmnm5uFKczzEArm__qY1KKrArSXMNXi_1usPz4so/s1600-h/230.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431974190510899074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidcdkrfJmBkXMjaWJWXF1cDdO9jj_YnFbH7VkYTnk2mfJ-Tv1A9uwjvkDJdw1mXncX-F2B8B3sr0BEjoSW4u3oRZaLtaBRxefAY93Dmnm5uFKczzEArm__qY1KKrArSXMNXi_1usPz4so/s320/230.JPG" /></span></a> <div><span style="font-size:130%;">Off they went...</span> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9txgELvOwrn0L3YeCr0nT7YWOEWeMAbu4uuD7WvaiJ4WrmLWSZvRwUmHapBk45hrojp0mwPTSjcW4ymysXMllXLA89LNUJeFhvqPeQC3lsq1N1cTdFHfS-IeBGg5w2Jx5REj6yYY5Slw/s1600-h/232.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431974174681388978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9txgELvOwrn0L3YeCr0nT7YWOEWeMAbu4uuD7WvaiJ4WrmLWSZvRwUmHapBk45hrojp0mwPTSjcW4ymysXMllXLA89LNUJeFhvqPeQC3lsq1N1cTdFHfS-IeBGg5w2Jx5REj6yYY5Slw/s320/232.JPG" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-77457843416733847562010-01-28T17:04:00.009-06:002010-01-31T17:18:35.193-06:00Caleb's 3rd Birthday<span style="font-size:130%;">Caleb turned 3 back in October; the day before Halloween to be exact. Since they were allowed to wear their costumes to school that day, he had to open one of his gifts that morning.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431968359735029474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVsYJdI73Dx4AU8F125W3XCewS1ADEhyE4JCeeC6fCfJGA1jTXWVSh3pen4FdaCsIxSGr-bR5Exk48qEeZ8eOmaLOyeSZBYBCnRZ51BX7hASBfvAru1ERa-TXKx5mPkl0H1I7A1VNxYg/s320/162.JPG" /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzreKVH8OS8gDmy6aZiAwIT7wIQ_7_9yevwzUEYbzdXETeeHTtYvQZQ9tEGcXEg1YcNFmMQ56mxaXjr-bNabWvurqPdkFu6JsGFbZ3Nkdixc_4fuby6EB0Ouylw3Ap5FouEuHIBW9uhk/s1600-h/163.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431968150347895042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzreKVH8OS8gDmy6aZiAwIT7wIQ_7_9yevwzUEYbzdXETeeHTtYvQZQ9tEGcXEg1YcNFmMQ56mxaXjr-bNabWvurqPdkFu6JsGFbZ3Nkdixc_4fuby6EB0Ouylw3Ap5FouEuHIBW9uhk/s320/163.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />That's right, he got a Green Bay Packer's, uniform complete with shoulder pads & a helmet (although we didn't show him the helmet until after school, since they couldn't wear masks to school). They may not have had their best season this year, but we are die-hard Packer's fans at our house.<br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWfse0jRugRJvqEyURRX2JdMWfuWdD2MK2xjlXcl2lQu64CaYOcEUdz7ne5pOqGnmF2n1FJGPXK9c2G10VE8dnPO3I-JXu_3yZh1mwhyphenhyphen8Ly9O3UtlF9cpd0thdNvug6uEPpOx8j9K3WE/s1600-h/164.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431968139652680290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGWfse0jRugRJvqEyURRX2JdMWfuWdD2MK2xjlXcl2lQu64CaYOcEUdz7ne5pOqGnmF2n1FJGPXK9c2G10VE8dnPO3I-JXu_3yZh1mwhyphenhyphen8Ly9O3UtlF9cpd0thdNvug6uEPpOx8j9K3WE/s320/164.JPG" /></span></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We did make him wait until school & daycare were over before he got to open the rest of his gifts.<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxtImDYY3cjGkKJTO0ilGa0bTZXteuH4UdLLn09QaJ0EVWk4wzDvzlWCGvDpKjBwTtqoZOZxWi9KdyWNZDhb_Y-MQB4mjDtoJPT8kIL5F2fiaYFKnqPNt07FmapKn0aw1_lQCnkOhtGE/s1600-h/165.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431968135574029650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxtImDYY3cjGkKJTO0ilGa0bTZXteuH4UdLLn09QaJ0EVWk4wzDvzlWCGvDpKjBwTtqoZOZxWi9KdyWNZDhb_Y-MQB4mjDtoJPT8kIL5F2fiaYFKnqPNt07FmapKn0aw1_lQCnkOhtGE/s320/165.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431968114945724258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Q7gdBgYJ6pGehI8vLH3R-5E71jAHPuns23wBLkJ3qP3JORfuAhtM6AQCvOQrqzEc-ngn3b79KXP0eGZkBjpp_3i7DpPU_GEm_ie7TTisXVMVZPoAEGRMoasp4vCecu2LWIT7cmMlbgE/s320/167.JPG" /><br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Baylee</span> was very excited about his domino train!<br /></span><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_MQaYTHrdc9NLa02USJES9EfuvXWlLpEVNJhY16QtWLFfsDHzXmWtK7FBnru033_peHQDOYUgArriuqOEgc855HsS4yoGvAIEgNCdSbTk7KJjlR1trsBDQdQVJkbI6P9HGwUFCD1IJw/s1600-h/168.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431967291260667570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_MQaYTHrdc9NLa02USJES9EfuvXWlLpEVNJhY16QtWLFfsDHzXmWtK7FBnru033_peHQDOYUgArriuqOEgc855HsS4yoGvAIEgNCdSbTk7KJjlR1trsBDQdQVJkbI6P9HGwUFCD1IJw/s320/168.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />But Caleb's second favorite gift (right after the Packer's uniform that he refused to take off all day) was a guitar.<br /><br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9OqziHYVgtBNLeJlPzGecLOwj751xyWX28SEMJWbvye0LHtxNL9ShKKMmm0cNbnw-y2TeFYf4sUXlShRz56AsWTlIpdme7i89hHizigIojTh14kA8YWId6hnpxg-PRe2Qh7bSXZs9aw/s1600-h/169.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431967282679280866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9OqziHYVgtBNLeJlPzGecLOwj751xyWX28SEMJWbvye0LHtxNL9ShKKMmm0cNbnw-y2TeFYf4sUXlShRz56AsWTlIpdme7i89hHizigIojTh14kA8YWId6hnpxg-PRe2Qh7bSXZs9aw/s320/169.JPG" /></span></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431967268406553378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-AtTYd0mAwvwTfF42SMtcN07wMAtEoPHcvXH4bkliwfzxkt8kxkva1XjxQC9HEqCK7nKFzU9jUt3jIu4A2N9IAKFwVXQiezAFl9sSkkD9sUjoWm3p-_mU0A8Ht71WBFHF6HonXDfWdQ/s320/170.JPG" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431966461413912082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjBxgI-3qgt7k2ru8w1cs9FymzgspFWwj4mC1HzNCn5JvxGRYdXNtK1smh1yBfdlw24jz1CMOWCmVxm4YPijoU3OYOUGNyig4fP9ePQESHyyfIN6nNIzdHE7cdyJoz-yHIze6rYRwbsc/s320/174.JPG" /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Baylee</span> was just excited for new toys period.<br /></span><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwPPDrmcCMpp3M-mEarMOqTG7hyLQU3tILlBlyp7x1tOac9RSbKcIb7DHzGT1P3Zqz4hEMzszehqKL3tW7EmfE5KUNbVyV6sBdNjWHVabfVSHR1B8UCLRK6UeN0wkSEK3CIO3KDAowGc/s1600-h/173.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431966469833767074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwPPDrmcCMpp3M-mEarMOqTG7hyLQU3tILlBlyp7x1tOac9RSbKcIb7DHzGT1P3Zqz4hEMzszehqKL3tW7EmfE5KUNbVyV6sBdNjWHVabfVSHR1B8UCLRK6UeN0wkSEK3CIO3KDAowGc/s320/173.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> You can never go wrong with a ball & glove. Especially a soft ball, that will most likely not break anything.<br /></span></div><div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsMaM_LBaM7Nmd1lNUlo3nQCLgEwrJteC9t920GKps-3dSr7FnaIB70rewfYctmdhO0uGyHV81_uu7bpowo-IGUfr1VhymTitFYw5jbyeQulef8vdSzVJwdBo9e6TV5-0wJB77Z2zz8w/s1600-h/178.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431936716681104338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsMaM_LBaM7Nmd1lNUlo3nQCLgEwrJteC9t920GKps-3dSr7FnaIB70rewfYctmdhO0uGyHV81_uu7bpowo-IGUfr1VhymTitFYw5jbyeQulef8vdSzVJwdBo9e6TV5-0wJB77Z2zz8w/s320/178.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Or with a book about baseball...<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNwM_6n0z3hKXN8UdW4gvZaJv0vtTSEoTDUlu_U4Ddd6obomq2t-ofRYWrDmuk-mvPkiI5pxLwxLUiy7Q525GSixlVX6IzrI27s1DWK8QguFw1I51MCfClj158JfaOaaFlAWu2x92XJv8/s1600-h/179.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431936715000597986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNwM_6n0z3hKXN8UdW4gvZaJv0vtTSEoTDUlu_U4Ddd6obomq2t-ofRYWrDmuk-mvPkiI5pxLwxLUiy7Q525GSixlVX6IzrI27s1DWK8QguFw1I51MCfClj158JfaOaaFlAWu2x92XJv8/s320/179.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">He has found some things he enjoys, in addition to anything ball related. And Cars is one of those things. Luckily, Cars was one of the few cakes Cub had left when I was cake shopping.<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72g4HazlRH8yqbePuLar0T0twN3SCm7iX8NWrfPwDACu6-wPbelt7SmbLM-05GYTpoXAZqhMwwNh2wAZqmIeScSZJ4Nl_-R3TDNVivOEloGB6Tca1ebgSZaRZn_LUJN_uvmTMvAY77IY/s1600-h/202.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431936707361166866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72g4HazlRH8yqbePuLar0T0twN3SCm7iX8NWrfPwDACu6-wPbelt7SmbLM-05GYTpoXAZqhMwwNh2wAZqmIeScSZJ4Nl_-R3TDNVivOEloGB6Tca1ebgSZaRZn_LUJN_uvmTMvAY77IY/s320/202.JPG" /></span></a> <div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxe6mUACiVLBbIXeG2A3gT8bfZMCqYbnH_XsjAQ9k42lO6AgFknOL42-gwGmhzR2XxOXHk1avPRqwd7JtwQkRQEfMcqJDInneZre6P_k2vvpHvrUO1sXVUZRhLX0WhG0XKWtGSihc8tY/s1600-h/205.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431934888734968002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxe6mUACiVLBbIXeG2A3gT8bfZMCqYbnH_XsjAQ9k42lO6AgFknOL42-gwGmhzR2XxOXHk1avPRqwd7JtwQkRQEfMcqJDInneZre6P_k2vvpHvrUO1sXVUZRhLX0WhG0XKWtGSihc8tY/s320/205.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> Waiting patiently for the cake to be cut.<br /><br /></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdn45fDwYevPL8Po7NZPCctEw4rem4R5cUb1hPon6qCG1P3hlIYhVSSNZuGmyyiqQbExFLmq1ug-TBAhS8gvbOC1ZPqluTTGSShZjTK8K4JjvrWN4y5K2amMYeJn39MRVle0TzqLqOprA/s1600-h/207.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431934874737193314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdn45fDwYevPL8Po7NZPCctEw4rem4R5cUb1hPon6qCG1P3hlIYhVSSNZuGmyyiqQbExFLmq1ug-TBAhS8gvbOC1ZPqluTTGSShZjTK8K4JjvrWN4y5K2amMYeJn39MRVle0TzqLqOprA/s320/207.JPG" /></span></a><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyMpPwqX-SD9_R4GIRwjywjNAD_BJouppMutRVqrdUBOXzVyVjirx5R4nUnfPq8kJotHkGn-vzVT1TbJT9ugjewvAEV_zvkH-UkjEE9wQdHjau0dw4DzdVpX162Fu5ePOnJnv9eub4Sc/s1600-h/209.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431934862834822370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyMpPwqX-SD9_R4GIRwjywjNAD_BJouppMutRVqrdUBOXzVyVjirx5R4nUnfPq8kJotHkGn-vzVT1TbJT9ugjewvAEV_zvkH-UkjEE9wQdHjau0dw4DzdVpX162Fu5ePOnJnv9eub4Sc/s320/209.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaXd7g3n8BE-kTVSuOVzbmoTsQrd0TvOp1Rw6s4O24ayMi84rNhT6aQNEDkIn-RFz1jMLAdpM-iLzYm6lQg18rkjjyCrM4ah0ooFe9EISEnRzSLmz3u7G8ANEsYOro4NPvUg4t6VLL-0g/s1600-h/210.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431932926589457538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaXd7g3n8BE-kTVSuOVzbmoTsQrd0TvOp1Rw6s4O24ayMi84rNhT6aQNEDkIn-RFz1jMLAdpM-iLzYm6lQg18rkjjyCrM4ah0ooFe9EISEnRzSLmz3u7G8ANEsYOro4NPvUg4t6VLL-0g/s320/210.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />As usual, everybody loves cake time!<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKq5_Hoa4M3kx4rlI9QgVDpFj3MiPl-ss54ZiGw87GkLVLxzZ3BUyH97SSru9hLC5j-uFvpQOhaDh0ZD0VV-7dVami1wjNVduru3IkKndFC5SQFgc3zGWdCfSHJuW3s1iQ9ICp81fcHd0/s1600-h/211.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431932923505428546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKq5_Hoa4M3kx4rlI9QgVDpFj3MiPl-ss54ZiGw87GkLVLxzZ3BUyH97SSru9hLC5j-uFvpQOhaDh0ZD0VV-7dVami1wjNVduru3IkKndFC5SQFgc3zGWdCfSHJuW3s1iQ9ICp81fcHd0/s320/211.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-scjyd95tnuCgw7q_hak-TOFXIVYHH-Bu6lGafqvrXYEOh71aHX9sYx7Fxm7QYQJi_6CTnGI2GFP0cm0lBzZJR2zYLYlMgZc5LtvpHSG8T9cC9qGX4_IZAEQoWhxxqIrelW2-rIh71U/s1600-h/213.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431932907674871826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-scjyd95tnuCgw7q_hak-TOFXIVYHH-Bu6lGafqvrXYEOh71aHX9sYx7Fxm7QYQJi_6CTnGI2GFP0cm0lBzZJR2zYLYlMgZc5LtvpHSG8T9cC9qGX4_IZAEQoWhxxqIrelW2-rIh71U/s320/213.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxt8BFpQCkjq1nvJraO6Kp2dc7Y5als6BcthoUjkPiXxZyn-2jR7oRtv3X4sDsBmpjAf2V6T_e3FtsKGJq2-ATWoRszusGx8oUja-Wijx-dMrMnxLWvSiDc5eWlfwF1bIdJAyvuthAz0/s1600-h/212.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431932902548447266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxt8BFpQCkjq1nvJraO6Kp2dc7Y5als6BcthoUjkPiXxZyn-2jR7oRtv3X4sDsBmpjAf2V6T_e3FtsKGJq2-ATWoRszusGx8oUja-Wijx-dMrMnxLWvSiDc5eWlfwF1bIdJAyvuthAz0/s320/212.JPG" /></span></a> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-2325174655698363542010-01-26T21:57:00.003-06:002010-01-26T22:05:47.091-06:00Ugh<span style="font-size:130%;">Wow it's been three months...I guess 8 kids, 3 birthdays, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Thanksgiving</span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Christmas</span>, Vacation, New Years & a laptop crashing really make time fly! Luckily, it was a slow crash, so I was able to save the pictures I'd taken since August on my flash drive....not to mention ALL of our daycare files that I hadn't backed up since November. (I really didn't want to go back to all of our parents to ask them how much they paid us last year!) I hadn't backed up Quicken since then either, but so far, I've managed to recreate our check ledger since then & I only have 4 checks left that I don't know who they were written to. The bank said they could get me copies of them for $4 a piece, but I know it probably isn't worth it, since I doubt it would make much of a difference on my taxes.<br /><br />Anyhow...I'm hoping to get pictures from Caleb's birthday updated soon.</span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-70244328509300123442009-10-26T14:34:00.004-05:002009-10-26T15:06:58.471-05:00First Day of School 2009<span style="font-size:130%;">Okay, so <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Baylee's</span> birthday pictures were not the only thing I was behind on. We had four kids starting school this year! Shockingly, Tyler & Cameron are no longer willing to pose for first day of school pictures. We did have a couple of willing participants, though. Amata & Caleb are always more than happy to have their pictures taken.<br /><br />This was Caleb's very first day of school, ever. And, actually, he is the youngest person in his class. Normally, they don't get to have their Early Family Special Education classes at the school until they turn three. But, since Caleb's birthday was only a month & a half after the school year started, they decided he could start early so he didn't have to make a chance after the year started. He gets to go three mornings a week. We weren't sure how he would do at school, since he tends to have a tad bit of stranger anxiety (which is putting it <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">mildly</span>). Obviously, we underestimated the thrill of getting to ride the school bus when you are 3! (Town kids don't bussed around here, which makes it even cooler to have the bus pick you up.)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396999112262920850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeK1RA77GnpVhYb2P-8mJkgLpQWZVKFLA2maWzLmpKUiKHeYcW2FaJPvpsBI_wqarkcaKi6i4DfCsDYebenhFyyYiI3aGQ41FaVRxXh2wVaRkiwHzJh14sFe53aaxb4I44kJqr0Gx6dE/s320/IMG_1488.JPG" /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size:130%;">The bus was a little late, so he got anxious & decided to wait outside.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396999107398184306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZtN_-f9D2n-gNyflyIqaY6TcPDutT_cvIcAUAPnsKI3wXeCbxCoqA9UOGzxx7s8sGgZdp3YjsOVs6vpV2xtrFoBZMSQ4XmvXpv1DHZpJN6KePa3g6J9_eZrxK4GmLU-hkAvQRXP1YL0/s320/IMG_1489.JPG" /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 283px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396999100575506898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgCCJvUxrHVa0jgPRJhB9yibrTGBFzp5bZsUTwcXEDFOJY-EYWUhaY5cJRAfY-fbx7eQaw8L0d_E-yQNagd7Ywn5NnZ5qF2P0YPl9_4kWQDHBMdAgQiSdJJphmt6N_rMtcqvlMD3V8nk/s320/IMG_1493+cropped.jpg" /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Amata gets to go to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">ECSE</span> 3 afternoons a week & regular preschool 2 days a week. It just worked out that her first day of school was the day after <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Caleb's</span>. She wasn't thrilled about that, but Nana & Great Grandma were able to be here for Amata's first day, so that made it a little better.<br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396999096180537218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDz2MSbbSo4fk_9Q_T-PsyIth4erUpBX2Brrtq_Pu3lRMFfVDCZaDJmQUmxpb1RlBo5pjMHFD6wPf6_CTkZeyyuY4AHUZszOldwTuORtvwnlGDHUvcBQxszeE3-bhPmEFG5rTNfj1UTyM/s320/IMG_1490.JPG" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396999090162353778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqDz7dk1HuFnIeWr3yyOHlEv4x2Tstk2ygIAnBwAkrpDYinyJynjnU9gMiglxGskt4yukteGKskJyQ4PPtcoP7mDWI8GhTyeW50R1PB_wf4q7ZwdCQGeTc-KjuT94uBEYKSRNZlnuYfs/s320/IMG_1492.JPG" /></span></div></div></div><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;">Too bad their excitement for school will fizzle out within the next few years. We'll just have to enjoy it while it lasts!</span></p>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-14622439937849307632009-10-26T13:46:00.009-05:002009-10-28T16:47:12.438-05:00Happy Birthday, Baylee<span style="font-size:130%;">Okay, so technically, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Baylee</span> is now 2 years, one month & 10 days old, but none of the other kids have had a birthday yet, so it’s okay that I haven’t gotten around to posting any pictures yet, right? Heck, we had our family pictures done in August I think and I haven’t posted or ordered prints of those yet, either.<br /><br />No worries, even though she is the youngest of 5 children and really has no concept of what happens on her birthday, let alone *when* it actually is, we did in fact celebrate her birthday, on her birthday, complete with cake & ice cream. We may have skipped the whole going out for dinner part, but she <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">didn</span>’t seem to mind, and really, it’s not my fault that she chose to have her birthday on Wednesday when Amata had dance. I even had all of her gifts purchased before hand…granted it was the night before, but still before. And, as a matter of fact, I actually bought the cake 4 whole days before her birthday!<br /><br />Lucky for <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Baylee</span>, she had lots of help opening her gifts from her older brother & sister!<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396983141271161170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIyug2C2RCTmMYUWf9Ig_VKUOSOTjPa0CG0mPUGPeuK2migEMGf6ReQBuYnxV6uaOmkzaHftgRhiLyO7EdDYnH6i1FP1or3rCaNbx7zVIXtnUdgkgDp9wQKGlMYEL_3gZMuyTuxJvWVgM/s320/IMG_1549.JPG" /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396983144861162802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6lJ_TDWXTzpuAmgpZEjQ_kukI9CLosCUOEJUYPq1A4oGlDRSRgqqXDuF18vPH86F-t6O0zWvYUzZHJzQ3-1fDFdlutgasiM1UCNcYegWKnTA4Ooz__Q4WvZXAlRnTL-502ryoXsmHdQ/s320/IMG_1550.JPG" /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396983147496843490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEC6etZ6hIX7IY6Qjcq-vMpy96Ef6h3vunlEV6Q8qYfTNHMxnM9RENkBm_C3gcxX6lx52vbmTk3ChqFgK7geiEBq1h9d45s2GqWpVSIsHS4wmFjuLGUjVViEtDSlyX4XxZLavKLL02jCw/s320/IMG_1551.JPG" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396983159553688114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjch5bGNItS8nNk1z7p2lNJWv_2aPmteS-z7wITiCDTTTwSobCP-BsFE3IZGMzFqxICaN3uf5PAxgJLbCvJsYFpZshf0tYHLLZ12vwTjWApi9GJCeht8MLEidim7Q2DNC10VtFTgHG3V3Q/s320/IMG_1553.JPG" /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396983162546393458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWabFMfsHJ234eRDJO4_fScu_85z66ySqzSYFCDDLHsOBBD6ATgwEj-sCTEzHOEsmmj1VF683OkMY7dIhzHSC-3nv8fgcAZP37yJ2wYChFunQ16Ve4msanU04GmvvL8C1vDWWVKLQ9bU/s320/IMG_1554.JPG" /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396983803432586514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78nVwVHOoDBRhjJzEu82tzI4ey_kV0TAslSBxjls_Ztcdw0MYRQ8L1OiRqHLVDfyw4iBlNAcI11lKXTMGmxOrfNrFLnVfY4XimM-1CHXS5OtNBvJIrlVemOyw2tM5ju7g7FIBr-vtIuA/s320/IMG_1555.JPG" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396983804932815442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0yGQld1Kmd8P4rEWR_lfBxLL9BOfZ0r-7D1b2X4rS0kdSh_c_CA6PYCFBU18lzW2dE4uPAuNt2FVKWul8xovM1ZVsBtGAT4-t7hBuZAHKk9-XknJvtf7o8zcJVjkjc_wiUr4wtJ7ctk/s320/IMG_1556.JPG" /><br /></span><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396983816435589010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSBP_ovhhtNDo9kZE8B_GLmutDgyMsDA4ddv-Wis6eTJd5GeKzHHRkW4uKkpZ7ZaLwroRq7rAJJXfOUZftfiKLQzzIj34VuGOV-FgFAojFclzlEAKY4jZdDbB-wa5lK64LZPq1I78TVA/s320/IMG_1557.JPG" /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396983823180634034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDfuaEz85wAH7LE67ukBPDu9iYfrCi42TQezAB348jT_65NzNkDw6rWxvPEY7G22Ps8ahFPNeCdGabnRNeZzgY4WLnokXVp0lS2eFtj6PZ8mOfy8BgXpAdJArXKCecmwwFQA7mvF_megk/s320/IMG_1558.JPG" /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396983830601829618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVukiuRqj5lVFduGF4ffxjMX6qmn1o9wGWd1NXWa3Jf0qYCI6Q63u-00IUhYMb0UDLvu0dcpJyL4foZs5rzBLfqZQ4zXhAXfseCApxt9rd267OHubdtoGjSgG4THezrG4pmH_3CYdcbew/s320/IMG_1559.JPG" /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396984577454383794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSHPqgjRvplfJWg3yUqY7HXgsJHZh8H170JTse-2rrzOWlK84oLKkzJGwJMa2zGHTYPMlzZ3wBL_Is7S5bksb07Mesc9GifGcsb4JdfaLdOrOzUwKs2imiCuo1auwbgGj6I1g11-NBLo/s320/IMG_1561.JPG" /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396984597205602466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzK8fCu7NpT3665UvmmMM4MAylMgvYaro3osjxya7wED4Sudxmx5qmQIBpNM-BKwzjukLhAV8kfXezJltYzumTAreet0ImiTtln4evYQthnkqgaZQ6Y_nvgCT9K1dVDLfis5Dw7RLCTs/s320/IMG_1564.JPG" /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">She changed into her new Barbie cheerleader outfit before enjoying her cake. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396985293377520674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrNWTy-E0JMELTmkIol3LcGpgd7Vn0cqI0wvwUoQFX0APL4uaMUp_LKlDgX-8iVqQWxTJAyoUQGg_r7YgM4KYXSH3EsZvk2OpjySoPYVIm_RO5zKgGI1NLRNzf7PjRLbRWO4AZis07T2M/s320/IMG_1568.JPG" /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396985278547327490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFVYM3zLH3AzmZKDieHCU2LYFUN47GKR3rKvWx9XZ0MNo2_nlVuPqRF-cRRu0FCb6bz-_woH9DjaQJHuzaU9UWT6lKy-pEF86-6qKfb4m25OZxS6R0KSIoo0Y80PUwoGNxkZDxQdQK8s/s320/IMG_1566.JPG" /></span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396985283107218834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Zs4tATq5kxVusbQ2UOEJPaQGO-LV4A6QEo87w7T-B6OnSILkdxjSdHQlrph8tpvL9cwpFpl7e5kv_Evnkhaz-3gczPHABzfk_wrcWJizAQhmyLyLKbWZMVicFEBtoXbZK4o2_D91I2c/s320/IMG_1567.JPG" /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">And, of course, Amata & Caleb also had to blow out the candles. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396985298751313890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3on5X0lh77CQ_le03AS8JSUUZfE1GJeBLj_ktbFbEOBzePx1JzSxrTFp47_sRnIQQi9uGrKlWywkCjtkFb5YStlw_-WsEKI1apnlVrekrgoJUnSwC_8HH-274Jdqu6zIOXMq5HShLXMA/s320/IMG_1570.JPG" /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">We were not prepared enough to have remembered to get extra <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Schwan's</span> ice cream, so we had to make do with <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Kemps</span>. Chris has gotten really picky about that!</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396985841393008354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KyTYw7-XL0BE8xBRmqR-8gnX5BIS_1JMN1MuSQZ8n6NU4D-P6ytehJ0onNKtu5CwPiZhjPhFNFPAlFPJb22FtQ7owgZKe_9JQUu6jEZSz-0NIkyBqh7hKDBdDRvhfNCDdoCK1RKQ5yQ/s320/IMG_1572.JPG" />Notice how excited the teenager is…as usual!<br /></span><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396985302207259554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokQ6TsxbgpxFmZ_B7ppWJgOKxgDPoKK-Eq7mB7hYvTd6iw50sVwCbHOu28oDrqe-Rf-RNT3xxnuurkN_PomtvjxQdq7dXMmfsKCF3NG8FbVC2lBXQE2F393zLsk2JJ1OuLFwbRP8dz_Y/s320/IMG_1571.JPG" /></span></div>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-41195899350905334362009-09-25T11:58:00.009-05:002009-09-25T15:38:08.800-05:00Sunday Afternoon Fun<span style="font-size:130%;">We went to our areas last parade back in August, and we remembered to bring the camera to this one. Tyler stayed home with <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">CJ</span>, as <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">CJ</span> is not so much fun at things like this, and Tyler feels he's too old.<br /></span><div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385456513258187234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gQUdUBA36sfNIvZ3DsO4Y8ws3gS4hQJKjCEG-HtuWsOzpIaFZMu6LVqiXh9wPCSdDC8hdKpncDwhSmCrWiTqP8F3v0wi8xCIoe6E9u110iXDGmF8Rrr8mTWp2AnBDBD3gxG3cEIQ2rM/s320/IMG_1445.JPG" />Waiting patiently for the candy.</span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5P7Ii2mQjlSfRS6kI5jZ8xFHfq_RS7U5d2zao6YJxB98K7xYc1BPuvHEw3FO6b1HBikM_0ZIFkXqiRosLmlKA51cdUWzUXMAG0vgE26meitjoEXshyFx6npZp_oRapMVIk0AwcNaoqE/s1600-h/IMG_1448.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385456264528588706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5P7Ii2mQjlSfRS6kI5jZ8xFHfq_RS7U5d2zao6YJxB98K7xYc1BPuvHEw3FO6b1HBikM_0ZIFkXqiRosLmlKA51cdUWzUXMAG0vgE26meitjoEXshyFx6npZp_oRapMVIk0AwcNaoqE/s320/IMG_1448.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> Here it is.</span></div><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5GXjexb_CDOZmEtcbdHIfcJhGrgHZNhE3DWeqYJmvrw8EcsfZBp45Ns_m4g1I8auf5H_HqsG2irbS_p-knM4s35Q57GCQCfiPcUTPVxTktfTEYeRIGz6mRswae8BbhjLXrporx37EoE/s1600-h/IMG_1450.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385456247901051682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5GXjexb_CDOZmEtcbdHIfcJhGrgHZNhE3DWeqYJmvrw8EcsfZBp45Ns_m4g1I8auf5H_HqsG2irbS_p-knM4s35Q57GCQCfiPcUTPVxTktfTEYeRIGz6mRswae8BbhjLXrporx37EoE/s320/IMG_1450.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9vmpUxJfXbpELgMOTTZow_i6PwoIXRJfiOu7N-0ZX7wM6WEoAiDyF1wFxywU5IHUqn0KRaiEBLWS0CmSjY6i_3rBMqMiJp9FJtM8FaoqR4DxNTbwEr8ut-Ug6iuW_U0nbJj-Wz9gCvY/s1600-h/IMG_1452.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385455394073711666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9vmpUxJfXbpELgMOTTZow_i6PwoIXRJfiOu7N-0ZX7wM6WEoAiDyF1wFxywU5IHUqn0KRaiEBLWS0CmSjY6i_3rBMqMiJp9FJtM8FaoqR4DxNTbwEr8ut-Ug6iuW_U0nbJj-Wz9gCvY/s320/IMG_1452.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79MkAyPZhmakrU7Ev3SgeFNkXqD1Hr5g6MiGiXzpXBEJ3HtmpE24wBkWsVqlrbxrb2rRypKZRau1NpJvqxJG5O_cjHmJD_sEzxkPAtP4ZNrqu7YSqnHbptyXX4mTeTW7jedokpaJh1XE/s1600-h/IMG_1453.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385455388404542770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79MkAyPZhmakrU7Ev3SgeFNkXqD1Hr5g6MiGiXzpXBEJ3HtmpE24wBkWsVqlrbxrb2rRypKZRau1NpJvqxJG5O_cjHmJD_sEzxkPAtP4ZNrqu7YSqnHbptyXX4mTeTW7jedokpaJh1XE/s320/IMG_1453.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">Big brother steps in to help out.<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOg9WiehzggWt5DHx_wx2LyuuKBQjAm9WDe537U_xeqPFNNxq4z8QK1KTbIS6j022sDtrNA216GahtkKEoIhEWvLDGBtgKJzlCr0VTCqNm9_jQDtnlOlWHevE7hf9v64DPlyxhK04JGBc/s1600-h/IMG_1454.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385455379860152434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOg9WiehzggWt5DHx_wx2LyuuKBQjAm9WDe537U_xeqPFNNxq4z8QK1KTbIS6j022sDtrNA216GahtkKEoIhEWvLDGBtgKJzlCr0VTCqNm9_jQDtnlOlWHevE7hf9v64DPlyxhK04JGBc/s320/IMG_1454.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385454586318967234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKcBgViwIo8JeDRqrvB6cC-jHOMHfxnRdcdVbGkcNYj_vtMbgaUaacA_Oe4Ncyv_dq6FoO4wklJxp5x3RzCtdV8UEhCHnMb9X7hZaACAIPWJzBaRgrtbYGKOqRbfGOl9YNxAuqLLroSAA/s320/IMG_1456.JPG" /> It's too hard to wait until we get home to start in on the candy.<br /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ndLZnZ2EzWIFKxGenCsBHf25AJblX_JHxrZ88le4wEoicucZeewruwNSSsNMqL_0MCo7SFVraLKYhX3HEI6Lyv9eq6f52Zudu0FB-R6hFUsALkwgQiQlDddl3YhjByXmujiGW9bpUWk/s1600-h/IMG_1455.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385455372487446786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ndLZnZ2EzWIFKxGenCsBHf25AJblX_JHxrZ88le4wEoicucZeewruwNSSsNMqL_0MCo7SFVraLKYhX3HEI6Lyv9eq6f52Zudu0FB-R6hFUsALkwgQiQlDddl3YhjByXmujiGW9bpUWk/s320/IMG_1455.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> Break Time<br /></span><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHpRwFxA1j3b1qUtoBXoyoW2gsu09ZKBOD2wla3u4sG1QR3xGf7L4D0b9yvxKl3a7_qKL3bCHf-R8NMpHeZKiMee9NhF0V9xb2UkNP9mwyuO1erm8r7wN1QChqCAtmz_WiH9Uqpk3fBs/s1600-h/IMG_1457.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385454580319477954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHpRwFxA1j3b1qUtoBXoyoW2gsu09ZKBOD2wla3u4sG1QR3xGf7L4D0b9yvxKl3a7_qKL3bCHf-R8NMpHeZKiMee9NhF0V9xb2UkNP9mwyuO1erm8r7wN1QChqCAtmz_WiH9Uqpk3fBs/s320/IMG_1457.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEw73qTRnclkdyu6sYeWBLO9DtkoGMpbCP4xpSt3UxK79DuuIm41xKhdapGP0PD2WGPDULHHhi4Jy-9pHe2bGep27jN4PoNnLETtLkvHuN-GvnOMyzd3w2EdeusEesF6DF-wau_pXZE34/s1600-h/IMG_1458.JPG"></a><span style="font-size:130%;">After the parade, we went home & Amata helped us get the corn on the cob ready for dinner.<br /></span><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODr-LaHAK9abei_uDKxqFq8zv4v0Ifgrvm4ojwgmNO7K_J5xj9Z5_q-dfgWjy0opiw9LKU4EhKmbs9kWesPk-3Zd557oMQVIehnPghJqVcVT0ZuOd-YoG5jOXUZzDoGNMhJhHxAv217c/s1600-h/IMG_1460.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385454558128187442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODr-LaHAK9abei_uDKxqFq8zv4v0Ifgrvm4ojwgmNO7K_J5xj9Z5_q-dfgWjy0opiw9LKU4EhKmbs9kWesPk-3Zd557oMQVIehnPghJqVcVT0ZuOd-YoG5jOXUZzDoGNMhJhHxAv217c/s320/IMG_1460.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYfcJbh87OpNOWJdL3YzAdoXs6_Y1JwAE71VG_mXWSSS38IBtF5sJ-eKy5SDYB7zMJdchn8k7GLPLoGA4Q9-0cEe5c4RUd9bi8apSK4ELenQGGVoVPfOhu97PE1_3SSMFy1JN9cwDR6As/s1600-h/IMG_1462.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385453224066026866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYfcJbh87OpNOWJdL3YzAdoXs6_Y1JwAE71VG_mXWSSS38IBtF5sJ-eKy5SDYB7zMJdchn8k7GLPLoGA4Q9-0cEe5c4RUd9bi8apSK4ELenQGGVoVPfOhu97PE1_3SSMFy1JN9cwDR6As/s320/IMG_1462.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> And then, of course, we had to eat it.<br /></span><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWy_Ut5vs2tzc_xuv6lcH4pHKr48BGTUHgbY9SQ20sENAd9t09n5mMBHE9JPRKJlWyBAZnGUjpA35EgNAvyWV8zA2gBqjx_PSqvqRl2KPNJubHPBVhda2VWOMQZsHHvqew0MQVnHpBGQU/s1600-h/IMG_1465.JPG"></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385452527801008338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0npq2QyHtDh1v09iTXzfhUKHS2WW8yb-FPHs9QnmYbPxoCYDNNpdXBcpdlZvS4xO9OMEyW4inP9-8IW5C-_0GVsVOSLAD5UG86Fls2OCGzO6uevy7KG6ExqeYoRg2LAMijnoZPHHdaM/s320/IMG_1467.JPG" /><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADapYP998hIbl2Iu1rGNg6EOKn-NsYel_liwWftQTafm8hCrWFFqbkcbTObBgI1HdHLAYuG8jXXoRzHXuyxQMBJO0Ww8bhi634CO8RBz1C3XV0WmdOUBnDSn5u6uDcpx3LM2R2M2seCo/s1600-h/IMG_1466.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385452533604106466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADapYP998hIbl2Iu1rGNg6EOKn-NsYel_liwWftQTafm8hCrWFFqbkcbTObBgI1HdHLAYuG8jXXoRzHXuyxQMBJO0Ww8bhi634CO8RBz1C3XV0WmdOUBnDSn5u6uDcpx3LM2R2M2seCo/s320/IMG_1466.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Or most of us....Tyler & Cameron decided they don't like corn on the cob anymore.<br /></span><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0_RhlxRh-OgmFQIStCHhvyfw7l_WVt3uLhJkyyCGmB4xhRE-Yl121pyIijE38G7AsOyrOfm4uHN38KCRWpD3ZAIH_URWW_5dzAEXoLcFM_J5h0ud7ljxyUPFtf3nZVCRwdtDLs06bUw/s1600-h/IMG_1468.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385452518266060866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0_RhlxRh-OgmFQIStCHhvyfw7l_WVt3uLhJkyyCGmB4xhRE-Yl121pyIijE38G7AsOyrOfm4uHN38KCRWpD3ZAIH_URWW_5dzAEXoLcFM_J5h0ud7ljxyUPFtf3nZVCRwdtDLs06bUw/s320/IMG_1468.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />And then it was time to help Daddy mow the lawn.<br /></span><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3PnhQ5vdPyGvT6IQtTC2qYRi_2X7KSQf8G7Fn3VAMXjR_0Bgtq9E1-2TWb6GTBWtLFHmsQtwITC6OEy1pBPCGfjOtq2xxDGFStXpgoiO6nPdH3ZgUra-Oj337fezHKb3TcmZgDY1NPQ/s1600-h/IMG_1472.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385451591070402354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3PnhQ5vdPyGvT6IQtTC2qYRi_2X7KSQf8G7Fn3VAMXjR_0Bgtq9E1-2TWb6GTBWtLFHmsQtwITC6OEy1pBPCGfjOtq2xxDGFStXpgoiO6nPdH3ZgUra-Oj337fezHKb3TcmZgDY1NPQ/s320/IMG_1472.JPG" /></span></a> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJl4Gzq-wCjrmKkqIM76qiOovUmCWc24_Mik7Nrqm3Hb6E_IfpabnzSHYH-NWXlhcj4hKt_cb1dnPwmrj7boaflgUbM_5Bs5mwt-JGADGRvZssY8Sn-wgHtjE6YG8DyMsKdmoP7QY5kc8/s1600-h/IMG_1471.JPG"></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEL7vEdYFfauDhSRMMpiNtB1DKoUSA07Xnqsb8ZtTDxVhZTxdEcS9nyUWgRxjuZEh7LR90dQRlT-EgOj_Z1f32msSSz5bPKs-61cvvLVrXErXPAf1CCyZd6ki_o7Oj71JUaBJRqkuygqA/s1600-h/IMG_1473.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385451578474396882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEL7vEdYFfauDhSRMMpiNtB1DKoUSA07Xnqsb8ZtTDxVhZTxdEcS9nyUWgRxjuZEh7LR90dQRlT-EgOj_Z1f32msSSz5bPKs-61cvvLVrXErXPAf1CCyZd6ki_o7Oj71JUaBJRqkuygqA/s320/IMG_1473.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> <br /></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOdkdsVVki1PdHDjq234cUdPK7BD-e-KwPtGOZ5X76ceXM3KFHnB3Sp_nH5_GuBEiZlH__RPypRJmy_niycEPh2XNEHyS5oAWNCm_b9tINTxe9X8z4RkeLOOY0AykbzPyijU53B6n2gI/s1600-h/IMG_1475.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385451562776640082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOdkdsVVki1PdHDjq234cUdPK7BD-e-KwPtGOZ5X76ceXM3KFHnB3Sp_nH5_GuBEiZlH__RPypRJmy_niycEPh2XNEHyS5oAWNCm_b9tINTxe9X8z4RkeLOOY0AykbzPyijU53B6n2gI/s320/IMG_1475.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-44740379483697511892009-09-23T14:58:00.009-05:002009-09-25T11:50:04.924-05:00Go Twins<span style="font-size:130%;">I may have mentioned that Caleb has a slight obsession with balls. Okay, when a 2 year old will sit and watch a Twins baseball game on TV...and when they get upset come October when the baseball teams on TV are not the Twins...maybe it is more than a slight obsession. So, we decided to take him to his first Twins game...and only game in the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Metrodome</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">He was very excited about it, until we dropped the rest of the kids at Auntie <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Marnee's</span> and discovered that she set up a pool for them. But, we did manage to talk him into coming along with us with the promise of swimming later. (We never said how much later). He was kind of in awe when we walked into the Dome. This is a boy that recognized the word Twins as baseball, so there was a lot to see! </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br />(side note...ignore the smudge on all of the pictures...somehow the camera <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">lens</span> had a smudge on it. I'm wondering if that was at all tied to all of the random pictures of feet that were on the memory card)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384758898289702706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRD2WFCpb2_9HN9Q5E5ZWY8sWsV2MGh0Uj1r_uLh-gv7r4gIuxLIzLL5fOqO_ZrGN_uRsMpoNPlWk-iZCknQItg5vHrWrOHqlqIrzdRcs0ASO00zEyHnW2otzASgw0IUd7M_i3Co7C40/s320/IMG_1429.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384758923661558258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCZFsQ1Bm5NJ9Yp_1Qb8OdWk7ABDaaE1W6vI85BWfCl2wvUI19c4ibfwW7E2GztFOw7G7Lvg9UsrNzlDd9ssBs8A8zDDcObUbqNgYILsgfykR68jZL6XKSrDv_IFy_RmmqLwuQP0Ph_I/s320/IMG_1432.JPG" /><br />We brought Tyler with too...although I believe his bad attitude was the reason the Twins lost. (As soon as he found out who the pitcher was, he said that they were going to lose.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384760450523783778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2YfTfOKiUcwNdDX1DErO-5n0G4Rg_rsKbZsLCOgI8X-dW9LJ7db94PqahXgqREC1JIWQnKUSIMR71cljMlZFMsoXM8lGfyo5VjDzrjlckH3FJPC4vfLzoBXltMnNxoPHTAjpAxwlLG0/s320/IMG_1441.JPG" /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Caleb enjoyed all of the food required to eat at the ball park...</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384759610582573778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFANDRoiF0CYVlzTrMCCk2y9ANLCL0mY9q840LLPMDopQysdI1bo_1l2jUEAfGSquyiVed3gXBRkqioJX_hQ5d2Okbqq0kaZSMemkXk4YBPgPqxZZoqr3UewCWttfLu0-51sR4gkLUbQ/s320/IMG_1435.JPG" />Yummy Dome Dogs<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384759602506988594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdjI5gUUMOKJdFY5_zxXvXfpANoeHsZFn2U3k6WKN547BE8mfgQw3SQ6XKFkRNUNv_igk203Q1ElWyidt9zy2pY57taPzgTtNXsoC9__C_T0xBKf7H-iWGqIbUYzyM149HXB-Kfc0xspU/s320/IMG_1434.JPG" />The did let him bring his Twins cup into the park.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384759622984282114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGfrz0om3SKYcSaMKHV1H98RDL1afxg7ab8ezYvMK83NSr0TLq0aMlGyfUVMk_tcqvvgU7NxQE8HQuV79daBJTrLLyhar6ew2trKpwM1bnA_mmzOs9J4swKca53wTiebXRQhD28nnFVU/s320/IMG_1436.JPG" />But of course, once he saw we had pop, the cup of water was no longer good enough.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384760460659740098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3irW5WI_kDZc-MDJOuf_DGsfDBCEOwwI9bHkECN2fbWDSgGAVBPOViaHY5mmih7net3MDE4bKK6EqLzr-6hVo8ExDiHvq7xbVoSXFdLlXSG_Qk_bTZEwTnjGL214wnfHuhgzjVOavOs/s320/IMG_1442.JPG" /><br /></span><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">The cotton candy was the big winner, of course. Pure sugar combined with lots of sticky...who doesn't like that?! Look, even Tyler is enjoying it!</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384759630894819602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6FzP7VIfpOtdEDvN4kwp9zC5W9-q-osm2wV8d4ngagjSFwmB6Fe9Ns_cYVqm6Z_U48IUbmSh4Ves_OdvjaYcguJpMIKhkEJIez-b62rBxrt_uJd2ALVbtY6QEGGaFnKTaLDkGLdYWZY/s320/IMG_1437.JPG" /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384760437400861906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivyHJTIHxdwzlEnyvJLFDqRLgSSZWKek3MbSHE94c2eOlS2Xw6aiYHT2p0sgmDn2RadErH5MBuCE5GKqsI4i60qy3qStqGa7xMfCRNB-cKD1fjTcUViw90hiSgAcocuxvz3WN40iT57dM/s320/IMG_1438.JPG" /></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384760441185983314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJstveIgWn8gQij2VhM15-0sUYkhdeN1zy1LXOk3uNh2Oin8MaFsyDZapOZAxEq2MYiY4hxCdpd1bZfwJuN0OWXjLeOvLHqEJc5qtZkVAWReNtnu1QsuF9yI_uTzsJpLm8dBOvrhuLknY/s320/IMG_1439.JPG" /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">But by the end of the 5<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> inning, all of the excitement wore him out. (The fact that he decided not to sleep at all during the 2 hour drive up to the Cities didn't help.)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384760465577596050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5g6vPSqMMPx93ndAtbXwAg9yERP0OMMxGgdFzqkj2r_5zj9q8HHXuwtVkExO51PJoBTze9shnIH02uPXZpIPsA7k5vzaxN3sJpHKwBk75UZto0RNxjHTCkGsw38LOOEnR4IXpnpVhmc/s320/IMG_1444.JPG" />Plus, they lost anyway, so he really didn't miss anything. He also did a whole lot better than the two girls sitting directly behind us who were several years older, they were ready to go by the third inning.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">All in all he did awesome. I bet he'll be even more excited about going next year to the outdoor stadium!</span></p>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-49167816252230790592009-09-04T12:37:00.003-05:002009-09-04T12:40:40.033-05:00More Changes<span style="font-size:130%;">Well, we finally did it. After today, Chris is no longer employed with Schwans. The great part about that is he will no longer be gone 14 hours a day from Monday through Friday. The really scary part about that is that neither of us has another job. Instead, we bought another house and are opening a second daycare.<br /><br />This means that neither one of us has a guaranteed income. And by the end of the month, we will no longer have health insurance. (Or, at least Chris, myself & the older boys won’t have any, at least the babies get MA until they’re 21 since they were adopted out of foster care.) Right now, the plan is once we have the second daycare filled up, or close to full, we would try to find a semi-affordable plan that will probably have a substantial deductible. Or if that fails…see if we can purchase insurance through MN-Care. Until then, Chris & the boys are under strict instructions not to get sick or injured in the next several months. And I am planning to “stock up” on my migraine meds as much as I can before the insurance is gone. (And while I’m usually not one to give opinions on any pseudo political issue, at this point, I’d have to say I’m “for” national health care because, well, we no longer have an employer paying for most of ours!)<br /><br />We have tried to be semi-intelligent about this business venture. We did create a budget that I hope is pretty accurate. And the house we found is pretty small and doesn’t have a garage (that’s important also because there’s a whole slew of licensing requirements, including a visit from the fire marshal if you have an attached garage), and therefore pretty inexpensive; although we did have to get a little creative with the financing since nobody is willing to finance a house that you are not going to live in these days. But I still go back and forth about 30 times a day between being very excited and scared to death. Hopefully that will go away soon.<br /><br />Wish us luck…or better yet pray for us, cuz if this doesn’t work, we could end up on welfare and then you’ll have to support us! (Tee-hee…that was a JOKE! Again, not against welfare, and I do not judge people who are on welfare…as long as they are attempting to work or find work or complete their education.)</span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-56901954917954222332009-09-03T14:07:00.004-05:002009-09-03T16:59:37.485-05:00Soccer Star<span style="font-size:130%;">Cameron and Amata are both playing soccer this year. </span><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 225px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377363891668728258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdqQ7bG9zdthDpqx0Pk6k1pE1MCs2KjN9uVUO-rTTDZDZn7TVd4yksYS-4pCEL-OS3HC2iANZw3N4hQxVVAXNXxrv9zOGd8D-rl1gn_3H9x4Lpbcqcup3JFlmVm7c0IyRbCTikK05KY6s/s320/Thursday,+September+03,+2009.jpg" /> <span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">It’s Amata’s first year, but I thought she’d enjoy it since you pretty much get to run the whole time. She’s been acting a little shy thus far, though. She has kicked the ball a couple of times, though, and the ball has hit her foot a couple of more times, so I think she’d enjoying it.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Cameron is the one that I always used to say just enjoyed soccer because if you just keep running around the field, nobody knows your not actually kicking the ball. However, I can no longer say that. Last year, with Chris as his coach, his team <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">didn</span>’t lose a game, and no other team even scored a goal against them until the very last game. This year, it has been just the opposite. They only have one game left and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">hadn</span>’t scored a single goal…until last night…when CAMERON scored his team’s first, and only, goal so far this year! Don’t get me wrong, it is very much a team sport, but he literally took the ball from mid-field and made the goal all by himself. Way to go Cameron!!<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">It’s too bad that this is the last year he can play unless we can figure out a way to get him on a team in another town.</span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-47742391444975738122009-08-04T14:15:00.004-05:002009-08-04T14:37:50.555-05:00Happy Birthday to me...I guess<div><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Yesterday was my birthday. Chris of course had to work. He left the house around 7:30 am and didn't get home until 10:30 pm. We did go out for lunch on Sunday, after we got haircuts for 5 of the 6 kids. (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Baylee</span> will let me put <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">her's</span> in a pony tail, so I haven't had to cut hers yet.) Tyler didn't even complain about the fact that I picked Mexican for lunch...that in itself was a great gift! </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">We also did cake & ice cream on Sunday. I didn't take any pictures of it, but I do have pictures from when we celebrated <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Yummy's</span> birthday. Long story short, for Amata's birthday, we had gotten a Brownie/Ice cream pizza for her cake. Tyler ordered it again as his pick a few weeks ago and when we went to eat it, Caleb went and grabbed birthday candles out of the drawer. I asked him who's birthday it was and he said "Yummy." So we lit the candles and sang happy birthday to Yummy. Then Caleb & Amata blew out the candles and we ate.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366193422147540722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcsMKfIHwRubKrEdicw9Dk324uY1hCgIpkofuQFijhcHI2hDGneh8ZW2vkaXiIzqcMNIAV-Y3RDYWSnjlvQloi0Bd0zlODEVgOUN3pMRnjqRFF2Hos9ZJeD7aL867q2a7NKuDFfVeCOXI/s320/IMG_1383.JPG" border="0" /></span></div></div></div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366193410115930130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRUXZjDW_7_BPNDcU4_eR9-yFo6slgDR16VMUSgnSaVK5mhcMEW0E9J1yapfRFtS3e_lwZpZ4ij-L0s4VeIOsZ2oJvvFqF5gg6VTrV9wk436-rMx2hWEuEt9FQ-S7Abcyl1-EI3gNa_zY/s320/IMG_1385.JPG" border="0" />Yesterday, on my <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">actually</span> birthday, we had daycare kids until about 5:30. Then I had to rush to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Shopko</span> and exchange the shin guards that Cameron needs for his game <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">tonight</span>. I made it back with about 10 minutes to spare before my online chat for an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">ADHD</span> class I'm taking. After my class I ran the truck over to the repair shop to get the window fixed and rode my bicycle back home. I know, you're jealous about how exciting my life is! But I'm officially another year older. And yet I'm still not old enough to be shopping for a "mother of the bride" dress no matter what the lady at Dress Barn thought!</span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-7677995063770155822009-08-04T13:18:00.006-05:002009-08-04T14:12:39.488-05:00Before and After<div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69KcpHXuXiFCZx9ULkQNmlCMoDKuUoMzqkPuv1qwXQXU0VGZnPNTJnOq5xVExvsDPTqS7kATIjCpxmcSj-NLCqjRbu_n2kUQ20yAJRaHIhe-w3Ze9lz1qdXDqNmQ7lxq2QZ3PMzRhEoc/s1600-h/IMG_1390.JPG"></a><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">We've lived in this house for almost 9 years now, and we have officially pretty much rebuilt the outside of the house. Unfortunately, we haven't been picking away at it that entire time, everything but the windows has been done in the last 18 months. So, we've spent a good chunk of change the last year, but with the economy being what it was, we got some really good deals. The siding alone was cheaper than the estimates we had gotten for it 4 years earlier. Maybe once we finish paying off our home equity line in a few years, we can start working on the inside of the house!<br /><br /></span><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">I am too lazy to find the original picture of the house before we replaced the windows, but here is what the house looked like before we did the siding, roof & landscaping. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span> </div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366178619248719170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 192px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyYcc-CU6xrf1mHZ1K6rb6FqvzPzb4oun88g7FEmSc6PIsRDu29oC2rZ4sne5VuwgqAuN2AefV2EpYKG-tiueMGN8TCTsiY-1LwCv846uwbO2RzLvOpEx32GEs42hWhvO-sDhnHhwAvcI/s320/scan0001.jpg" border="0" />It looks just fine from a distance, but when you get closer, you see the crumbling concrete patio, the rotten panels in the siding and on the really windy days if you were lucky, you could see some of the shingles blowing off. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">The patio was the last thing we did. It rained practically every day when they were trying to put it in, but once they were done and we had grass seed to keep wet...no rain! So after weeks of watering, here is the final product.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366187106650984578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDkGCapXinP6B2a_yG7eKGBn2ShaobZR5-YHTN_jWPSI3itWqupUM5OMbEw1KcyS6jRlA3KyfGzmOPtGOgCDf_xm3HFvxY8AADHVMfg04U89SSK3sOwF6vY1-gJEyCixVp-qQhlZEQQms/s320/IMG_1391.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366187061198165986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlIwyN0Wa_mFTwaESXzD4U3vihN2doHdwsI2S43W9LVFvcLg-MUJt_v3HXOY-GdI5lvrmuqKWAutw6gwHVJvaWEigxE8Hc21yrc_zOBw65cJSoKxXn814lKs_RBFAUP0RCYxuDmhfrnM/s320/IMG_1389.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366187167953022594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx22fq44H8GNd5unhPxFEJHDB37bXE8QbGH26CGWhWrsNgjK8WlCXmg5ZE8h1v8kcb9XlvKhMOXRuTPMolJR2qz-1hBdS6tIsxQtxDIHaGWWaLEyMqCIm8-zcppmuZp84jrPnlSlIPxaQ/s320/IMG_1393.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366187148969192034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5U8wSVQaNENYA7dB4pYK_qEh1OA-gaFKYDno77rGpAdEDQ2R44rFlPW2ISPOnV_LIf44hZcd-MUvG8gKAHWwPB6Pz0i39BUCBvmLm6Tc7VjXFE0ORK5ovw2bS2b468-qlQJ3lrTHUbXs/s320/IMG_1392.JPG" border="0" /></span></div></div></div></div></div>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-71776624897440384972009-08-04T12:46:00.007-05:002009-08-04T13:00:42.060-05:00I'm not drinking it!<span style="font-size:130%;">When <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">CJ</span> was initially placed with us, he was on Soy formula. I really didn't know why, I just figured it was working for him, so I continued giving it to him. (And really, there's no point in asking why, because chances are pretty slim chance that the social worker would know why anyway. The parents don't usually write detailed care <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">instructions</span> when their kids get taken away.) When we went to his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">WIC</span> appointment, I asked if the nurse thought he needed to go to Soy milk, too, instead of whole. She said that typically babies who are on soy formula have outgrown the need for it by the time they turn one, so he would probably be fine with whole milk. And, in order for him to get soy milk through <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">WIC</span>, he would actually need a doctors note.<br /><br />She did say that we could get lactose free milk with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">WIC</span>, so if he didn't do well with whole we should try that. At first he seemed to do okay with whole milk, but after a couple of days he started getting a light rash on his chest & his back, so I decided to try out the lactose free milk. (Which, in case you were wondering is twice as much as regular milk...thank goodness for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">WIC</span>!) Since we made the switch to lactose free the rash has gone away, so I will probably stick with it. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">There is just one thing that is bothering me about it, though. I bought the carton about a week ago, and I just happened to notice the expiration date on it. September 10, 2009. Since when does milk last for over a month & a half? And while I admit I don't like milk anyway, unless it's chocolate, there is no way on earth I would drink that milk on September 9<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">th</span>. Is lactose really what makes milk expire so fast?</span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-28732570394167574382009-07-30T21:30:00.004-05:002009-08-07T09:39:39.744-05:00Dang Them!<span style="font-size:130%;">**I decided I needed to edit this post because I broke my rule about not posting about anybody specific who could possibly see this.
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<br />This past year has been full of changes for us, and it turns out, the changes aren’t done yet. Schwan’s is turning out to be a bit more than we anticipated. For the past month or so, Chris has been gone from about 8 am until 10 pm Monday through Friday, and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight. That just does not work very well for us and the 6 kids we currently have. So we’ve been exploring other options. But lately, I’ve been wondering why do we even bother?
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<br />I get so tired of seeing people do the absolute minimum that they can just so they can continue to recieve welfare. I actually watched a documentary once where one of the single mothers interview said that she has the "right" to be a stay at home mom for her child. I hear so many people complaining about Human Services and what they expect people to do…like work. (Oh, and the term "work" is used very loosely, as that can mean "looking" for a job, which can mean putting on your application that you may have a conflict with jail in the near future) Now, I’m just saying, if you want to be a stay at home mom, you should probably wait to have a child until you’re in a stable relationship with a partner who can support you and the baby.
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<br />If it was a "right" for people to stay home with their kids, there wouldn't be anybody paying into the welfare system to support them. I get that it is a very fine line that the welfare departments are walking. Yes, the children absolutely need to be supported, as it is not their fault who they were born to. But the problem with that system would be the reason my youngest 3 children are so close in age. If you lose your benefits because the county took your child away, the only way to get those benefits back right away is to get pregnant again...because then you get benefits throughout your enire pregnancy.
<br />
<br />So this brings me back to my point about why do Chris & I even bother to both work? If he quit at Schwan’s and we just both ran the existing daycare, we should be able to get all kinds of welfare benefits, right? And before I get a bunch of hate mail, I am NOT against welfare, or food stamps or any of that. They are all important programs that people have a legitimate need for. But it was never meant to be a permanent source of income for people who just don’t want to work. And I really get irritated when people who are receiving benefits bitch about being expected to actually look for a job.
<br />
<br />And so, Chris will continue putting in his time a Schwan’s until one of us can find something better. Dang my parents for teaching me that I actually had to work to earn a living and support my family!
<br /></span></span>
<br />Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-69981054450008137742009-07-27T19:47:00.001-05:002009-07-27T19:47:58.212-05:00Eight Minutes<span style="font-size:130%;">So, Tyler & Cameron are at my sister in laws for the week. Fun for them…not so much for me. My last daycare kid didn’t leave until 6, Chris is working until at least 10, we were completely out of milk & I had my online chat for the ADHD class I’m taking. So, the kids & I rushed to the grocery store (as rushed as you can get with a 4, 2, 1 & 1 year old) to get milk …6 gallons to be exact, because I am NOT dragging them all back to the store again this week. We got home about 20 so 7, so I had twenty minutes to unload everybody & everything unloaded, put away the milk & get the kids something to eat so I could be online by 7 for my class.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />And I did it. I made the kids a wonderfully nutritious meal of bologna & cheese with potato chips. (I wasn’t in a bologna sort of mood, so I seriously had bread & butter.) But I got to the laptop and logged on by seven, eating my bread & butter, and waiting for the next 8 minutes for the instructor to finally get logged on. She had an excuse…something about having to reboot twice, but still. Even though it wasn’t her fault…if I’d have known I had another 8 minutes maybe I’d have given them some mayo with their bologna or found something else for me to eat!</span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-34735760662049018452009-07-16T15:25:00.002-05:002009-07-16T15:29:01.690-05:00Parade Fun<span style="font-size:130%;">We went to our first parade of the summer last night. If we were willing to put forth a little more effort to drive to more small town parades, I’m sure we could have made it to at least a dozen by now. These days, though, making it to FestAg & Kernel Days each summer is about the best we can do.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The kids had a good time. Chris headed up early with Caleb, Amata & Cameron to enjoy some rides, and then Tyler, Baylee & I went up right before the parade with some DQ cheeseburgers for dinner. (Because nothing says I love you like fat soaked cheeseburgers to clog your arteries) CJ was at the parade, too, but his paternal grandmother is in town this week, so he hung out with her for the day.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Caleb, Baylee & Amata all enjoyed the parade, and got more candy than they will ever eat. But now I can throw away the rest of their Easter candy. There was a girl sitting about 10 feet down from us who kept running in front of us and taking “our” candy, but when she tried to take my the kids’ candy corn, her parents finally noticed my expression and made her give it back to our kids and told her to stay by them. After all, it is an unwritten rule at parades that you don’t run in front of people and take the candy thrown to them!<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Amata & Caleb had a couple of ride tickets left, so after the parade, we headed over to ride the carousel. While we were waiting for our turn, a woman came up and said, “hi, I’m J**’s mom.” She is Amata, Caleb & Baylee’s biological grandmother. Amata has been in our care for almost 4 years, and I have never seen this woman before in my life. J**’s cousin, who I do know, was also there, so I do believe that’s who she is, it was just kind odd. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">She were nice, she just wanted to take a picture of the kids. She did ask a few questions about them, and so I told her about Caleb’s speech and Amata’s FAS. She said that J** was also very aggressive when she was Amata’s age, so according to her, it’s probably just hereditary. (Because I’m sure she never abused alcohol while she was pregnant.) I also couldn’t help but wonder to myself if J**’s aggressiveness started before or after mom’s boyfriends began sexually abusing her, because one might think that could cause some undesirable behavior. I was polite to her, though, and did let her take their picture.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">After that it was definitely time to go home, since it was everybody’s bedtime. CJ got back about 10 minutes after us, he was so tired he didn’t even notice when I took him out of his car seat and took his jacket off before putting him to bed. He ended up sleeping until 10 this morning…and then grandma was back around 12 to pick him up again – I could get used to this, but sadly, she heads back to California this weekend. Guess I’ll just enjoy it while it lasts.</span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-87755853675372900882009-07-07T21:55:00.001-05:002009-07-07T21:57:05.591-05:00Catching My Breath<span style="font-size:130%;"> I’ve been thinking that if I didn’t actually have to write these blog entries, I could probably get a lot more posted. I think of things I’d like to post about all the time, but I just don’t seem to get them into the computer! I also think about getting my house cleaned. Like the whole house all at once, not just one room at a time, but that never seems to happen either. You’d think by this day & age, somebody would have figured out a way to let you get things done by just thinking about them. <br /><br />Oh well, until that happens, we’ll all just have to put up with my sporadic blogging.<br /><br />June was a very busy month for us. I think there was only one weekend we were not traveling, and so of course we were at the camper that weekend. I am so glad we decided to get a seasonal site last summer. We don’t even have to move it over the winter, and it’s all set up and ready to go whenever we can get out there. (And they have a baby pool, which is VERY important to me!)<br /><br />We went to my cousin Tracy’s wedding the last weekend in June. It was very pretty, and my girls had a blast at the reception. My sister Megan hit the dance floor with Amata (A.K.A “Mini Meggie”) and Baylee is apparently quite the little groupie! She would stand on the dance floor for 10 or 15 minutes at a time just staring at them. At one point the guitar player got down on his knee to play to her. I’d love to show you some pictures of it…at one point I thought about bringing my camera, but it was a fleeting thought because I completely forgot to grab it.<br /><br />On the way home from the wedding, we stopped at the Mall of America to take the kids to Underwater World. They all really enjoyed it, although it was quite spendy. We’ve gone before and I didn’t remember it being so expensive. (And Caleb & Baylee were both free because they are both under 3, so it wasn’t because there were so many more kids that is seemed expensive.) Oh well, it was probably worth it since they all really did get a kick out of it. <br /><br />From there we went to the Rainforest Café for lunch. They little ones really like seeing the fish & animals there. It was also a little spendy, but that was probably due to the fact that I completely forgot about the gift card I had in my wallet. I was ready to head home after that, but for some reason Chris always wants to walk through Nickelodeon Universe. That’s not a fun area for me to walk through with 5 kids on a weekend…without a stroller. We made it, though, and finally made our way home to pick up CJ from respite care.<br /><br />Our Forth of July week & weekend was not so very exciting though. Unless you consider 2 children under 3 with very runny diapers & vomiting exciting. I seriously cannot even count how many diapers we had to change. I chose not to count how many towels, sheets and blankets that had to be washed, because I think it would just depress me. Caleb seemed to be better by Saturday, so I decided he could go camping with me, the boys & Amata. We decided to skip heading out to the fireworks show when he threw up at the table.<br /><br />Fortunately by Monday, they both seemed to be fully recovered. I am slowly, but surely making through that pile of laundry! Here’s hoping the rest of July goes better, and it not quite as busy as June was!</span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-13111145815775683552009-06-23T10:58:00.000-05:002009-06-23T10:59:13.557-05:00I’m Sorry Cameron<span style="font-size:130%;">I have suffered from migraines since Cameron was 3 months old. And, so, I have always contributed the migraines to being pregnant with him and delivering him…a delivery with very non-effective pain meds.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">But, I started to rethink that. Tonight, at dinner, during the 25 minute discussion with Tyler about him having to eat a meatball before he could have another cheese filled breadsticks…a meatball that was less than 1 inch in diameter…I really began to rethink that. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">When Cameron was 3 months old, Tyler would have been 2 ½ years old, about the time he would have started talking with words & sentences. I think that might be what caused the onset of the migraines. And here I've been "blaming" Cameron for all of these years!</span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-60136455716713695912009-06-10T21:41:00.001-05:002009-06-10T21:41:49.031-05:00What would I do without her<span style="font-size:130%;">I took Amata with me last week to Mankato, to get some supplies for CJ & take Baylee to Now-Care (She was not exactly looking her best, with yellow gook coming out of her eyes & her nose). From the back seat Amata said, “Mom, you need to follow that white line. Don’t go over the yellow line, just follow the white line.” And then, “You’re doing a good job, mama. You’re following the white line.”</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />I have no idea who taught my four year old to drive, but thank goodness she was with. Because I’ve only been driving for over half of my life, so I may not have known to stay between the lines otherwise.<br /><br />I did feel a little bit better when she started telling Chris the same thing on the way to my dad’s last weekend. Apparently, I’m not the only one who needed a little help driving. <br /><br />And at least it was better than the new phrase she must have learned from TV…as she was getting out of the car with Chris, she told a nearby bird that she was going to “kick some ass.” I realize it is not the worst thing she could have said, but still not something I want to hear coming out of my 4 year old’s mouth!</span><br /></span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-77877709261607291552009-06-08T14:31:00.000-05:002009-06-08T14:32:23.522-05:00He's Back<span style="font-size:130%;">Baby CJ came back last Monday. Quite honestly, I’m not exactly sure why he was pulled again. I’m guessing she relapsed, but I’m not sure. She’s definitely using now, though; she was on a roll on Friday. First I received a phone call from his great-aunt in that morning. CJ’s mother apparently texted his paternal grandmother saying that CJ was with his biological father, so they wanted to make sure that CJ was still here. Then right after lunch I received a phone call from the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department that they were looking for a potential missing child to see if I had him, because she apparently called 911 saying she just ran CJ over.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Last I heard she was in jail, I’m not sure if it’s for the fake 911 call or something else.<br /><br />Last month at my garage sale, I decided to sell our extra car seats. I figured CJ was with his mom, and it was very unlikely that the county would place another baby with us since we are not wanting to adopt any more children. So, I do take full responsibility. If I would have hung on to that until next year, he probably wouldn’t have come back. His grandmother in California does still want him, so hopefully his parents rights will be terminated soon so that the paperwork can be started for him to go there.</span><br /></span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-19719839198035537342009-05-26T12:46:00.007-05:002009-05-26T21:29:13.842-05:00Happy 4th Birthday, Amata<span style="font-size:130%;">Amata turned 4 on Mother's Day this year. We didn't get to go out on her birthday, though, because we ended up with a couple of sick kids, but she still enjoyed her gifts & ice cream cake. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">She actually got to open one of her gifts a day early because her auntie, Meggie Pie, was here for the garage sale that weekend. (And don't even try to call her Megan in front of Amata, she will correct you.) She loved her new Baker outfit and all of the goodies that go with it!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340191009654290162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZd_kBn26wx_B_rgkQd__UlReFIrzEswNCiPNJPiNgkKnT298L8FnfEpjavP2yLDfoQJNfrZWR-Y_kGiCbmZtj6waaVVL2MsSdU4-z3xjPJCGiB7P9Plh9Gzsapms0_baJT78LOBvxhvg/s320/IMG_1363.JPG" border="0" />I did end up taking her & Tyler with me to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Mankato</span> to get some groceries and a quick trip to the pet store. Once we got home, she got to open her gifts.<br /></span><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340191026809236610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjmlYW2mtq0O3Lqvhsh4zHM4J7geTqSJwj4FaWRUsklG5sncA-jF8OQKjzhiQv5SFG3WKk3SKWBcU6FE8I7nzO1Yzfqng-bSe6kiHSssjhlUmP0sV2EpCaqrr-wwGo4NOSYD0p_-j4q0/s320/IMG_1366.JPG" border="0" /><br />She got a stuffed monkey with a blanket...</span></div><br /><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340191034814053954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6I302Mfkg7NwlOru1Nj_RVNB9gsFiaY9dZVXp8HJHus7yuAwFFVkfsne5Y1xk0McWyeC4lEnMaODCm6ummMdX7b9cn0jWowQFUSKEksbFXkk6OGUogtXfnzxje8mZlCxtviSEJif2bOg/s320/IMG_1367.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340191556964766226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdpoEEkB2mfvTMzHBkc5XSEJBItPSDr5KbRx5jH31q5aCwcq2JtXMUrwayeXe4ItFpSCGMV2XouQVrzOQl0ArwHTXhxYACeiICW8EnLUBtIbtj1SVBGHKFjFVO7E1ymZmdqDymdinGlDc/s320/IMG_1368.JPG" border="0" />Some Moon Sand, which needs to be an outdoor toy because it is NOT just like Play-Do that doesn't dry out!<br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340191564880868354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOrnuNAe_exarnQmH7knypFJRRRWfO-i-2gYyTk87CqKh1ld7l5H03w4K-bhFJeb8LRRi41N7WgABeXXjrKb41E3vkTiQdEyc8gktK2cGD_w496JZfDAtif9s6YwADNeg5wNGa0G9V4k/s320/IMG_1369.JPG" border="0" />She also got a washable Dora <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Doodle</span> Mat, however, we did discover that is wasn't the same as the magic markers that will only write on the things it is supposed to write on. These markers show up very well on skin, too.</span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340191568745075410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNN_ozsUZP1S3lo1D3wXONE2b7W1AhbbqtArb_yzV7ZI611dRlomxn1wpM7ZG29bLKw_UBEeXSFydLoTDwbGxuYz7hGVX1BA-2w665wGQwIR5YVfNYYDVtALPHfeXNpPU4ni6Ck7ZTqkQ/s320/IMG_1370.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340192200946265666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HVNaP03kEz_Vjo-bQikxquP6QFV8BfNvDNc3LRGPfC4M3Czyn9wq7gpXyVY3aOyMouQCjCQzGne4BDRv63cglLMJqAa0a-8dvLVeaMt0JBfnAFDzmbXOmnFqstwCLIjf8Xa1dXnpMdc/s320/IMG_1376.JPG" border="0" /></span> <div><span style="font-size:130%;">And what was probably her favorite gift, her own digital camera with an LCD screen to preview the pictures...because she really doesn't care if they ever get developed, she just wants to see them right away. (This is my favorite gift, too, as I'm hoping this would stop her from using my digital camera)</span> <div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340191580069572402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3MWr81ueStY73j1fO6zDYNTjUBEKe1C8j7aOH2U7HcbMB1RluMoEtb9TZ8dLfeew_8NK9Oq-_XuNTqxsidYE3tqBB40ZgHPBZdUdUmENHO1_-JMhyIxIvcZdWtKT4L9cKA9xbHALBgI/s320/IMG_1372.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340192184992212610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieaJvKUnc3ywgzXECkUI_ckn3tsM6Uiq25MH9yY2wpwBdOYp6EI5x4zopcgKlmIa-CXE9Ud2OwIgQV6zxKo1XWk9BVKNinIeO3ODgkWHpET_7E0lzsVrM5SgJX92cnJ77kM9ECTh1q5N8/s320/IMG_1373.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340192186868667394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKronSOMHIyCtvjgU3sfzC2cB7ZEjicMPrAQB2yv353XGm7mFupirVVoZnXSN1mK2kwgpWFGB21GQrRPaQhVOHhEBUxOzJOvZsymYKkOtOrnJZQxFy9TormiPEhu7PqmTy4-OycCNebk/s320/IMG_1374.JPG" border="0" />Caleb decided that if Amata was going to start taking still pictures with her new camera, he would be in charge of the video camera. (Notice Tyler in the background, excited as always)<br /><br /></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjLxKTyTDId3DPNnwrJLvhDuOPT6MFQh60NU8qE0Du0NkkDj4gb8k6tc842bKhRoqeo1SUEgYFIwJicPXVNeorbeqUWMvQbcpdqs4fLby39SgsvhboLFoNU0oZfdrIoBxnJ32FeT5cwQ/s1600-h/IMG_1375.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340192195976867186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjLxKTyTDId3DPNnwrJLvhDuOPT6MFQh60NU8qE0Du0NkkDj4gb8k6tc842bKhRoqeo1SUEgYFIwJicPXVNeorbeqUWMvQbcpdqs4fLby39SgsvhboLFoNU0oZfdrIoBxnJ32FeT5cwQ/s320/IMG_1375.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Her cake is actually a brownie ice cream sundae pie from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Schwans</span>, but she loved it as did the rest of us, '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">cuz</span> it was yummy!</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rPcdGb50hbk29kneDCKeCqdd0eHnoJPFUKgYF5XdzZx-i64IHAz3fXxjJUoD4Qlu79GKCN5HFHTf5ihnQ4qkTVeJgxzbF-6VXcm4CRS21xvM4PTnkkWiQpRASA8YGr9C_8D0gMYcl2o/s1600-h/IMG_1364.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340191016387790482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rPcdGb50hbk29kneDCKeCqdd0eHnoJPFUKgYF5XdzZx-i64IHAz3fXxjJUoD4Qlu79GKCN5HFHTf5ihnQ4qkTVeJgxzbF-6VXcm4CRS21xvM4PTnkkWiQpRASA8YGr9C_8D0gMYcl2o/s320/IMG_1364.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340192753736267602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMhWZ8LM1Sw9M3aaSEJ7HoQ0pbT1aC4PiG87ypvBoBkDD0a-JiVvxRERarwGf65nV0ALxvUCirNA4vKuOk34JR0VznmFzAiu1gdXUEAH5MLQUALAWasw87lmS1_BV-hA-gLLFfVfWpho/s320/IMG_1382.JPG" border="0" /> Poor <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Baylee</span>...she always ends up asleep during cake time. (She was one of the sick kids that day. Cameron was the other, but he still managed to suck down the cake!)<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340192751353287458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJdc3vZb0nxcbKf1mqDo_sR_k-xhrLLyRtEeo-t9w5uHfEYHwfLs977MmW5qsQD5IFccA6azF5GOc4CXLBAZ4rNq0O3or8mbHahbROeINju-ct5RxaDjDxti4rJSft0dN1asfinCVWiQ/s320/IMG_1381.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340192746343983122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IlIsTTg3cblPP4qZrUETKuOTUXG9FEYcr0heF51DoTOuFdqkka4NpfMVueOWZ2___aPltORoKpFvz-9LgiDOzkQhjqfQPzV9bo8mE0xMRKwxBmmezEYoByIl9Mx_Tdtvn11hTSdemtg/s320/IMG_1380.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340192740961548930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbi3Omj5rNHYR7f6OvAjra9eR1848uPT3bcHcVREtAQgrHaaVoGQg2cyapNDUOOaq7IhaStBLukODB6g4KGhwsO72XzTZ7XaIEwmceLa_floZCAxYbooF2vTw6QK7j9VjWjcN9uIfNfJU/s320/IMG_1379.JPG" border="0" /></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We did make it to the Wow Zone last weekend to finish her birthday celebration for pizza & games. And by now, a couple of weeks since her actual birthday, she has even started giving her correct age when people ask how old she is. Prior to her birthday, she was telling everybody that she was going to be 6.</span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9046888871774786724.post-34750825837496152002009-05-22T22:31:00.002-05:002009-05-22T22:35:36.641-05:00Sweet Victory<span style="font-size:130%;">I was at Wal-Mart last night to pick up necessities for the camper. Probably the exact same “necessities” that we bought last year and should still be there, but somehow disappeared since last season. And when I was going to check out, I noticed that they no longer had the 25 items or less signs on the <a href="http://mommyinthemoment.blogspot.com/2009/01/dear-wal-mart-cashier.html">self-check-out lanes</a>. I got to say, it is pretty sweet to think that not only did somebody actually read the comment I left at Wal-Mart.com, but they even did something about it! </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I also noticed that the check-out lane that they keep all of the baby formula in is also no longer a 10 item or less lane. Of course they waited to change that one until my babies were all done with formula, but it makes me smile none the less, because that is just crazy to think that any parent buying formula would have 10 items or less.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Now if only I could find the person who keeps buying every single package of hot dog buns…I’d like to have a word with them. Because, seriously, this is the second time in a row that there have not been any at all. I don’t mean they didn’t have any good hot dog buns or any really cheap hot dog buns; I mean there was not one single, solitary package of hot dog buns left in the entire store. (Or at least the bun isle, because I admit, I did not actually look in every single isle.)</span>Stacie from MNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593280395250175507noreply@blogger.com0