F13 - Studios and Animal Kingdom

I included our day at Animal Kingdom, not because it was the same day, but because apparently I did not take a single photo that day. Those highlights included the Boneyard play area, Everest, the fun parade and some Chinese food, yum!

Our day at the studios was fun, with highlights being the Disney Junior show for the kids, Jeff got to be in a filming demonstration, visiting my former workplace - the Great Movie Ride and the Toy Story Mania ride (though we agreed... not quite worth a two hour wait.) We ended the night (and the trip) with Fantasmic, which was a great show and last hurrah.

That is one hot and tired dude!!

 

F13 - Our Rest Days

We had to intersperse two resting from parks days, and we were all glad that we did. On our first, we mostly vegged at the house, swimming, napping, etc, and Jeff and I also took care of some paperwork that got our little house under contract, yay!! What a lovely birthday present. We also ate at the T-Rex restaurant and browsed Downtown Disney.
The second restful day, we misjudged the time and missed church, drove around one of my old neighborhoods, went to the (nice-turned-stormy) beach, got some gator jerky and went back and swam some more at the house.
I also have to mention that more than once, we hit up the local Checkers. Anywhere else, this means auto parts, but in FL, this means awesome burgers and the best chili cheese fries that will ever pass your lips.

 

F13 - Magic Kingdom, and... My first day of being SO old!

 

On Aug 1, my THIRTIETH birthday, I was awakened with coffee cake (my fave) and bubbly. I made us take a picture drinking sparkling cider that early in the morning because of aaaallllllll the different kinds of alcohol glasses our house had. We decided to do Magic Kingdom that day and had a blast. All of it except for when we actually truly lost Alisa for a half an hour. That was very not my favorite. A very kind family found her and security got us together. For lunch/dinner-ish we ate at the Be Our Guest restaurant which is in the Beast's castle. We'd been trying to get reservations for 6 months but never could, so when we got there and missed lunch time, I was pretty sad... but Jeff worked his magic and got all 9 of us in on a last-minute opening. It was delicious and the theming inside was amazing. Amelie, dressed as Belle, said "Everyone will think I'm the real Belle!" Alisa, on the other hand, slept for over half of the time there, poor tired girl.

We visited all the new Fantasyland, and Belle's storytime thing, which was a big hit. The girls were both in it - Amie was Maurice and Sis was Chip - and loved every second. By the end of this day we were pretty dead.

 



 

 

 

Florida 2013 - Universal Studios

For probably 6 months, we planned on a trip to Florida in the summer. Our family of 5 went with my sis Jaimie, my niece Stacey, and my brothers Ricky and Mark. We flew in at different times, but the kids were really pretty good on the plane. (We totally almost lost Amie at the airport while we were rushing to a connection - scary!) We got a steal on a rental home that was 5 bedrooms, fully live-in ready, had all the baby accessories AND its own pool in the backyard. That was very nice, though it did take us a bit to drive to the parks each day.

The first day, we went to Islands of Adventure (a Universal Park.) It was, after all, July 31, which is Harry Potter's birthday. We did most of the stuff through the whole park, but ended up spending a large fraction of the day in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, of course. My pregnant self took the kids to Seuss Landing to entertain the kids and snag some pics (for Carson man's bday) while everyone else did crazy rides. We had lunch at the Three Broomsticks, all got butterbeer, spent time in both Zonko's and Honeyduke's, and toured Hogwart's while waiting for the (awesome) ride. (Note the girls were in their Harry Potter shirts.) It rained on and off, which left us doing the ponchos on and off, but between the late night arrival the night before and the crippling humidity, we turned in comparatively early. Such a fun day!

 

Our summer in a photo nutshell

Here's a small glimpse of what we've been up to since about May or so.

 OK, this was in March, but I never got to mention that we took a quick trip up to Minnesota for my nephew, Jayden's baptism.  We had a blast - we love and miss those cousins!  Carson loved his one ride at the Mall of America.

                                           
                                            
 The girls finished up dancing season.  They were adorable as Belle and Cinderella.

 Eating!

Working... but at least I have sweet co-workers!

 Amie's cute end of the year program at Challenger.

 Finding out about baby #4!

 Playing outside!

 Watching Baby Liam! (We miss you!)

 And let's not forget a quick trip to the Delta house with our awesome friends, the Benzon's! The toy handcuffs were a big hit all around, and Carson loves the girls as much as they all love him!

 A fun family hike on the 24th.

 Marching (or being pulled) in the Children's parade.

And finally, our friends Jim and Becky got married.

I'm sure there were a thousand other things that happened worth mentioning, but that's all you're getting outta me!  I need my pregnancy sleep! Good night!

Jeff's Birthday and Father's Day

Our Jeffrey is a shining star in our little family, our extended families and, I gather, in his workplace as well.  I can't imagine this crazy life without him and I am the luckiest girl in the world!

For his birthday, we went out for dinner the night before at the Chef's Table (yum!) and a movie.  The next day, we went golfing, lunch, dinner with his family.  He's pretty laid back, so it was a chill time.  From us, Jeff got a new TV.  We've had a tiny 13 inch tube in our house since the girls used our other as a drum.  He was so surprised, that was the best part!  He and I are not the best at keeping secrets from each other. 

Then for Father's Day, we ate at Chili's the night before with the gift card he got, I made him cinnamon roll pancakes, then a book, some family pics for his desk, and other little things from the girls from church, etc.  We also got to see both of our dads and spend time.

We sure love you Jeff!

On change

Recently, there has been quite a significant amount of upheaval in the world of Nikki North. I sought/accepted an RT job at LaEuropa Academy - a treatment center where I used to work as a staff.  Right in the midst of getting set up with this, I was... rather strongly encouraged to apply for a full time opening at the U Hospital where I sometimes fill in.  I debated over this for weeks and weeks and finally decided to go for it.  It would be sort of like a fast track to acheiving some bigger goals of mine and my family's. SO, I accepted that job as well.  Within around a week, I went from working perhaps once a month to working a full time job, plus a part time job.  On top of this, my sister started working and both of us needed child care and it just so happens we were able to work it out to swap.  SO, on my "days off" (Mon and Tues) I tend my 4 month old nephew, Liam (while she has all kids Wed, Thur, Jeff has them Fri, and respective dads have their kids on Sat.)
At this same time, Jeff and I both got released from our callings (EQ President and YW 1st Coun.) and put us in as 11 year old scout leaders.  This was both a blessing and a bit of burden too.  It was less involvement for both of us, at a time when things got crazy, but jumping into something new has been a big adjustment, even if it is less time commitment (especially for me - I know nothing about scouts!)
We now also have the kids home all the time for summer with no dance class, performances and preschool to run around to.
I also happen to be turning thirty this summer (WAH!), and so we planned a big family trip to Florida to do all the parks and everything. Which means we're planning and saving for that.
AND in the midst of all this, we are wanting to get out of our little bitty house.  We have pursued some options, but we have yet to jump in with both feet and really go for it.  Everytime I think about trying to get (and especially KEEP) my house show-ready I just get so overwhelmed on top of everything else.  So, thus far, it has been the one thing to keep floating to the backburner.
Usually, I thrive on change - I seek excitement and the novelty of changing it up.  However... too much of a good thing, you know?  I have generally enjoyed being at work, I just feel like I am missing so much of my children's lives and I am no longer the maestro of our family.  It is crazy.  It's a good lesson in letting go of control for me, but some things fall to the wayside.  I even ended up visiting the hospital with days-long chest pain that turned out to be nothing (ie, probably stress-induced.)

After all that, though, I am very grateful for an opportunity to stock up on work hours (for advancing my licensure) and monies (for advancing our living situation.)  We just have to muscle through the fatigue, piles of laundry and missed family time. To everything, there is a season...