Who needs a baby when you have a 10 year old who wakes up in the middle of the night almost EVERY night?!?!? I'm at my wits end here, I mean he is sweet and all, but this is getting old!! Not to mention not only does HE wake up, he wakes up Kyler and me!! Some nights he does give me a break, but not Ky, nope he wakes him up every time!! I totally understand being scared, I spent the majority of my childhood scared of my own shadow but dang it I slept!! (doesn't matter where;) For a while I thought it was because maybe with it being winter he wasn't getting enough exercise, but soccer has started and he is getting PLENTY of exercise and he is STILL waking up!! I try to be understanding, but my patience is worn out!! He doesn't seem to be having any affects from not getting enough sleep, his grades are stellar and he is a really good kid, but eventually I'm afraid not getting enough sleep will start taking its toll on him...it already has on me! so friends any ideas how to help my boy sleep through the night again?? :)

It has been FABULOUSLY sunny for the last few days...I cant help but notice how it affects my mood. I have decided I am a much happier person when the sun is shining!! I'm nicer to my kids, I have a ton of energy to get things accomplished, and just all around feel better!! I didn't realize I had a bad case of the winter blues until now. SOO hopefully this weather is here to stay!
What will today bring~~~~~~Lots of smiles that's for sure!!:) Enjoy the day my friends!!!

Yesterday started off in a not so good....make that HORRIBLE way. I'm not going to go into details, but Ill just say this. A certain almost teenager who lives in this house acted beyond terribly and said some hurtful things to me, all trying ( I believe) to get me to change my mind and let him skip school for the day. Normally when he does something wrong he admits it and apologizes pretty easily. Not yesterday! I thought for sure by the time I got home last night he would throw his arms around me and Say he was sorry....no such luck!! I was pretty devastated by that. This morning he came in my room before school and told me he was sorry for being a jerk, and that he loves me, and gave me a big hug. I felt so much better, and I'm sure he did too. Then after school my sweet boy redeemed himself by bringing me home my favorite thing, a huge Dr.Pepper! And a card that said....I think that you re the greatest,MOM I wanted you to know. I get so busy being me, It doesn't always show...You have a place inside my heart that no one else can fill. I hope you know i love you- Always have..and always will. YAY!! I am so happy, for a while there I thought the sweet boy I love so much had disappeared and turned into a yucky teenager who doesn't care if he hurts someone. He may have been a little slower to apologize but the important thing is he did!! Love him so much....ALWAYS HAVE....ALWAYS WILL:)

13...

3....of the best kids we could ask for! They are completely different from each other, can drive us completely insane, and put us on top of the world all in the same day.

5....different companies, (all in the same line of work)

3.... Different towns, we came from Vancouver, had a semi- short stay in Pasco, and finally found home in Chehalis.

2.... Family vacations each on a different coast, each magical in its own way.

Countless arguments. More teasing than I can count. Some tears. LOTS of learning and growing!!

We have a sign in our house that says ..."Our family may not have it all together, but together we have it all" and I couldn't agree more!!

13 years ago we got married and it was the BEST decision we EVER made!! We have a long way to go, but 13 years in and there is still no one I would rather spend my time with. Is it easy?? NO! Is it worth every second?? ALWAYS!!

So here's to 13 and many many many more years! I know I speak for both of us when I say .....I wouldn't change a thing:)

Ethan

Ethan is a great creative writer.....having said that here is a sample of his creativity:)

I told him he needed to write his thank you notes to the kids that came to his Birthday party. Here is the note he wrote to Carson. I'm not kidding this is really what he wrote!

Dear....Carson....

Thank you for coming to my party. You are a fantastico! Lazer tagger. Thank you for the moolah. It helped me buy a lego the size of Godzilla! Anyway muchas' grasias senior.

Sincerely......ETHAN!

I cant wait to read the rest:) Gotta love this kid!!

Disney World '11

Earlier this year we started talking about all the different places we wanted to go for our family vacation this year. We hadn't gone anywhere to far from home since we went to Disneyland 3 years ago. We talked about so many different places, but finally came to the conclusion that we wanted to go to Disney World:) So after much searching and figuring and craziness I decided to use a travel agent and let her deal with the headache of finding flights and hotels and all that jazz. She did AMAZING!! Anyway the wait is finally over and we just got back from the most incredible vacation EVER!!

We spent a total of 4 days in the Disney parks and 1 day in Universal Orlando. The first full day we were there we spent in the Magic Kingdom, if I could do one thing differently I would have taken that day to relax at the hotel and maybe look around Orlando a little because looking back we were all so jet lagged and grouchy. The Magic Kingdom part of DW does not come close to the magic kingdom in CA. So it was almost like been there done that....We had fun, but I kept thinking that I had made a huge mistake and no one was going to have any fun on this vacation. Don't get me wrong, we were enjoying being there, but it was just a tiny bit of a let down. And man was it CROWDED!! This is the slow time of year there and Adam and I kept saying how we would hate to see what the busy time of year was like!! We also went to Epcot that night and it was fun but again I think we were just a little to tired to really enjoy it:(

The next day we went to Hollywood studios....Let the fun begin!! Thank goodness!! As we walked in there was a little comedy skit going on...it was so FUNNY! Ethan and Kyler totally loved it and drove us a little crazy the next few days imitating it! There is a few really good rides there. The one the kids liked best was the Aerosmith roller coaster....Addison figured out that if he went in the single rider line it was MUCH faster so that day he and Ethan and Kyler went on it without Adam and I. It scared Kyler to death but E and A LOVED it!! I never did get the courage to go on it, but Adam did go on it when we went back a couple days later and loved it! Apparently you rock out to Aerosmith while you wait and then there is a countdown and your off. That night we went to Fantasia, it was so cool!! Its a water show and its just amazing.

The next day they were expecting a huge storm to go through Orlando...so big they even closed down the 2 water parks! So we decided to just lay low and relax....we waited and waited for this huge storm to come and by afternoon it still hadn't come so we decided to head into downtown Disney and do some shopping. While we were there we had an artist sketch the kids...it turned out PERFECT!! Looking at it just makes me smile because you can really see their personalities coming out!! the funniest thing is he drew each kid separately and then he drew Kylers arms around his brothers...its funny because Ky would NEVER pose like that!! While we were there I kept smelling and seeing all these delicious deserts coming out of the gherideli chocolate store and decided I had to have one so later that night we went back for desert....its the most I have EVER paid for ice cream, but it was totally worth it and I ate every bite!!

The next day was still a little iffy weather wise so we went to Animal Kingdom....you know it always impresses me that my kids love animals so much!! There is one terrifying roller coaster there that my kids and Adam LOVED, but I HATED!! and a really cute bugs life 3d movie show, but other than that its like a big tropical zoo and it was so cool and fun. I thought my kids would be a little disappointed in the lack of exciting rides there but they loved the safari trek and seeing all the animals! I guess 1 scary roller coaster was enough for them to be happy:) Animal kingdom closes a little early so we left there and headed back to Hollywood studios since we loved it there so much and Adam wanted to catch a stunt show we missed when we were there the first time. He and the boys loved it so I'm glad we made it to see it!

The next day the "storm" had past {it never really hit} and we headed to Blizzard Beach! All of us have agreed it was our favorite day of the vacation. For Florida standards it was a little chilly and windy out so we basically had the park to ourselves. No lines, No waits, just rode the slides over and over again. This is also the day I got scared so badly I shook for a good 10 minutes AFTER the ride was over....on a water slide....which I normally LOVE!! I had seen this particular slide online and it looked so fun....once I saw it in person....different story!! Its 120 ft drop straight down FAST!! The guy working the line said they call it the wegginator and with good reason!! I think quite a few people saw more of me than they should have when I got off that slide!! But I'm glad I did it:) My boys would never let me live it down if I hadn't! We rode one slide in particular so many times...it was a racing slide and Adam kept beating us so we kept going trying to beat him, never happened but it was a ton of fun trying!! After the park closed we went and got ready for my bday dinner. We had planned on going to the House of Blues but one look at the menu and the lack of live music inside and we decided it wasn't for us. So we ended up going to a great steak house and it was delish!!

Friday we went to Universal Studios....A ton of fun for the boys....I did alot of waiting and watching. I am not into scary rides!! The boys all LOVED the rockin roller coaster. You get to pick your own music to listen to while you ride, altho I'm not sure how they heard it thru all the screaming! This day was a little disappointing for Kyler because he wasn't tall enough for the Hulk roller coaster that he was so looking forward to going on. I'm kinda relieved that he couldn't go because it was a good excuse for me to sit it out without being razzed for being to scarred:) Universal is also where Harry Potter is....Addison couldn't wait to go on the rides there! It was also the busiest part of our trip....so many people there!! The line was 75 minutes long for the biggest ride. It was really cool because the line wound thru the castle and the ride was pretty intense and fun. I think Aj was pretty impressed with it all!!

Saturday was chill by the pool and relax day and it was much needed by that point!! We al got a good tan and did alot of swimming!!

This post has gotten really long so Ill save the travel home story for another day:) I'm so thankful we got to spend this incredible time together as a family!! Many many many wonderful memories were made and I cant wait till our next one!!

Ps....I tried to put pictures on here but my computer is being stupid and its not working:(

FALL'S TOP 10

The 10 reasons I LOVE Fall

10. School has started, so has the busy schedule

9. trade in flip flops and tank tops for hoodies and fuzzy socks:)

8. Stormy days

7. Cuddling up on the couch with blanket and a good book and reading the whole day away and not feeling bad about it!

6. The smell of pumpkin candles

5. The changing of the leaves

4. The excitement of the holidays being near

3. Wanting to bake again.

2. SOCCER!! And the joy it brings my kids

and the number 1 reason I LOVE Fall..

Adam is home, his schedule has slowed down and we get to spend lots of days together, just the 2 of us while the boys are in school!!