Happy St. Patrick's Birthday

It's my brother's 27th birthday! Happy Birthday, Mark!

"Myrtle's Beach"

Jon had a manager's retreat/conference last weekend at Myrtle Beach. Shakespeare asked where Myrtle's Beach was.

We had a wonderful time and were even able to enjoy the water in swimsuits one of the days (78 degrees). The pictures that I've included are from the first day there (one of the cold days). The camera ran out of batteries so we used a disposable the rest of the time (still not developed).

Our condo was fantastic. We were in a tower on the 18th floor with an ocean view. It had 3 bedrooms and was so spacious. The decor was beautiful.

We were glad to be there with friends. One of the managers is a good friend from Indiana who also has four children our kids' ages.

Other highlights of the trip were: finding a sea urchin, watching the sun rise over the ocean, Sinatra eating sand, and Popcorn screaming in terror every time we stepped into the loose sand--"Monsers get me, Mommy". Funny, but not.

My Pod

We've been iPod crazy at our house. My hubby went out to buy computer speakers so he could listen upstairs without headphones and he came home with speakers and a 30GB video iPod for me! His is black, mine white. He even got me the car adapter! What fun!

Many hubbys should adopt the philosophy that mine holds: Valentine's day and wedding anniversaries should be celebrated all year long. He's great at courting me. I get flowers all the time. A week after Valentine's Day he brought home a dozen roses for Gem and a dozen for me. Yea! My Hubby!

A Tramp Lives at our House

We got the trampoline set up and the kids are jumping! They spent 20 min. before church jumping (40 degrees and a stiff wind) and 2 hours after church (still 40's and windy).

Many thanks to our friend, Rex, for coming over to our house 3 different days to help us put it up. Leveling the ground took forever. We actually sank the legs in the ground and put down a gravel foundation to make it level. I documented the process for all of our interested family and friends.

Hello Pod

The end of the iPod saga has arrived. We deposited the reimbursment check today. Yea!

Gem's 8th Birthday

Here are a few shots of the birthday girl (one week after the event). The big gift from mom and dad to all the birthday kids was a trampoline (13X13 square)--still being set up in the back yard. For all the moms, yes, it has an enclosure.

She opened one present in the morning (Princess Belle from Nana) and the rest in the afternoon. I did her hair up like it was done at Disney. We went to Qdoba (restaurant) for a birthday lunch. Was a nice day.

Shakespeare's 6th Birthday Party

What do you get when you put 26 children in a room with cake and ice cream? A bouncing great time! Shakespeare celebrated his 6th birthday at a local bouncing gym called Bounce U. It's actually two gyms filled with a blow up bounce playground.

I thought that $200 was a bit much for a 6 year old's party, but now I'm a believer. What was included? invitations, 1 hr. 15 min. bounce time, 45 min. in your private party room, all paper products, drinks, set-up and clean up, and two helpers to take you through the whole thing.

What really sold me was the two helpers. They were fantastic! They helped kids in the gym, made a big deal over Shakespeare being the big birthday boy, poured drinks, cut and served cake, even wrote down the presents and who gave them. They took everything to the car and were extremely courteous and helpful. I got to socialize and take pictures.

The Parthenon, Anyone?

We've been studying Ancient Greece and recently made gingerbread Parthenons. Thought you would enjoy a few pictures of our masterpieces, complete with white frosting to create that marble look. Also, Gem added Hera, Hermes (winged shoes), Artemis (with pretty hair), and, my favorite, Zeus (with a white icing thunderbolt). She also built a small temple for Artimis Nike, god of victory.

Goodbye-Pod?

I promised myself that I wouldn't post a thing about this incident until it was resolved--trying not to use this blog as a reason to gripe.

During our trip to Disney, Jon took Gem to a dinner with Cinderella at the Grand Floridian Resort. While driving there, they listened to music through the cool gadget that my parents got Jon for Christmas: it uses your AM/FM radio to play your ipod. All you have to do is stick the ipod in the cradle, press a button or two, and you're good to go.

When they arrived at the resort there was no parking available in the lot so Jon valet parked. He turned off his ipod, handed the guy the key . . . and that was the last we saw of the ipod.

Needless to say, it has been a long road. We filed a compaint, called the manager, called her manager, emailed a copy of our origial receipt, talked to the claims department that "doesn't replace persoanl property", talked to the Disney hotel manager (valet was sub-contracted), were directed back to the parking company, were ignored for a week and a half, talked to a new Disney hotel manager---and she contacted her boss who contacted the president of the parking company and they cut a check that day.

It's in the mail. ?

In the meantime Jon reordered his ipod and has been enjoying it. We ordered it from Apple because they engrave your name and phone number on the back.

The morals of the story are: First: Disney good. Sub-contractor bad. Second: if you can't find a parking space, grass is a good option-- because, hey, a $50 ticket is better than having your ipod stolen by the valet. Third: if you're a valet and you are going to steal an ipod, make sure you take the cool $100 gadget that charges the thing and lets you play it through your car radio.

Shoulder Angels

Scene: Pizza Hut lunch with the kids.

Gem: "Hey, Mom, are there really shoulder angels?"

Mom: "What do you mean, shoulder angels?"

Shakespeare: "Yeah, I think they're real."

Mom: "What is a shoulder angel?"

Gem: "Those angels that stand on your shoulder, like in the cartoons."

Mom: with dawning realization laughs histarically in the middle of Pizza Hut