I'm Stalling.

I know I need to continue my vacation entries. I have so many Marco pictures that I love...I just don't know where to start. So...instead of starting tonight, I'm going to give you a taste of what Tuesdays are like. I'm going to give you a sweet taste. Believe me...there is plenty of salty, but we're not going there tonight. Tuesdays with Jake and Izzy are always memorable. They make me laugh. They make me want to pull my hair out. We always say they have a love/hate relationship. Let me just tell you...the moods turn on a dime. One minute they are hugging and Izzy is calling him "baby"...the next minute...it can get really ugly. Like I said I'm not going there tonight. This is all good.

Last week we took a trip to a craft store to get some things we would need for making cupcakes. I found a recipe for making the alien from Toy Story.  Green food coloring...who cares, right? It's only a one year old kitchen.

This is pretty much all Jake did...eat icing.

Now for Izzy's creation...

...and Jake's...

Here they are yelling, We love cupcakes!"  I guess that means this project was a hit!

Today I decided to take them to a local park that has a splash area with fountains. They were a little intimidated by the bigger kids already playing there when we arrived, but then Izzy took charge and led the way.

They didn't last very long in the splash area. The ground was very slippery and both of them took minor falls. I told them to put their shoes on, but no one ever listens to me. After a little time on the playground, I took them for ice cream. They ordered the exact same thing...vanilla with m&m's. It was hysterical to me that they had to give each other tastes. I forgot to photograph the cup of Jake's ice cream that landed on the bench. It was quickly replaced.

My thanks to Brianna for helping me out today. I would be uncomfortable taking both kids to the park by myself. Having a second set of hands and eyes makes it all possible. I took this quick shot of Brianna before we left for the park. I have to grab her for pictures in the evening sometime when the sun isn't blasting us.

Tomorrow I must concentrate on the vacation entries. I am really excited about putting those entries together in a blog book. Be prepared for lots of beach pictures coming soon! Before I sign off for tonight, I must mention Jake's kid party. We had it over the weekend at a bounce place. We invited cousins and the kids from our neighborhood playgroup. Jake had the BEST time. He's just a crazy maniac at places like that. I'm not at all happy with my pictures from the event. I had to take my kit lens to have some zooming ability. The kit lens does not allow enough light in, so I had to resort to my flash. Yuck. Here are a few to share anyway.

Yes...he really is that sweaty. Jake plays hard and runs warm. I don't know what else to say. He was the only kid at the party that looked like this:

This is how to spend a birthday...

You spend the entire day in your new, cute jammie pants and tank top. You scrap a few pages which is amazing because you really haven't felt like scrapping in months. You eat. You don't work out. You ponder 45. How did that happen anyway? It's not just in your 40's anymore...it's rounding the corner to 50! You play with your kid...but you mostly let your husband do it so you can have some free time to scrap another page. You let your kid blow out the birthday candle in your 100 calorie Vitalicious Triple Chocolate Muffin.

You tear yourself away from the computer late in the afternoon to shower and get dressed for dinner out at one of your favorite restaurants.  You get a picture with your babies.

That, my friends, is how you spend a birthday.

My Big Project, an Anniversary Recap, and a Marco Preview

I mentioned that I was working on a big project, and that's why my vacation updates were delayed. The project is finished. Pictures are printed, and now I just need to order a canvas. Kate and I decided to take her graduation dress to Florida. She loves Florida and the beach and really wanted some beach shots wearing her dress. Graduation was over. The dress would just spend the next who knows how many years hanging in the back of her closet, so we decided it was ok to get it messy and wet in the name of cool photography. We got some really incredible shots. We both LOVE them. In fact, Kate said a couple of really sweet things to me in the process...things I want to record and share. While we were taking the pictures, she told me that if I wasn't her mom she would want me to take her wedding pictures. That shocked me...in a good way.  She also asked a few times if I thought we got some great shots for my website. I was so touched that she was interested in having these posted to my site. (If you need a link to my site, email me at gigidesigns26@aol.com.)

Here are a bunch of my favorites.

The Anniversary Recap...
We planned an evening around the Eagles Concert at the stadium. We had dinner, enjoyed the AMAZING concert, and spent the night downtown. Kate took this picture of us before we left. I had to include the top photo taken when we were dating. We weren't even engaged yet. I'm guessing it was probably done in 1986. The new one reminded me so much of this old one.

Here are some shots from our evening.

Here is a little Marco preview:

22 Wonderful Years!

Today we celebrate 22 years of marriage. I seems like time has flown, and it seems like we've always been together. I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel very blessed.

Dan, thanks for always putting us first. Thanks for working so hard to make our lives wonderful. I love you.

Does this count as your card since I can't find the one I bought?

Vacation 2010 Part 2

On day 3 of our adventure we decided to try Magic Kingdom with Jake. He wasn't a big fan of the parks last year, but he's changed quite a bit. We were walking over from Bay Lake Towers, so he wouldn't have to ride a tram in a parking lot. That was a huge issue last year because he is afraid of trains. I wasn't sure how he would react to the rides this year. We decided not to make a big deal about them. We would get in lines and just board and see what happens. Well it turned out to be a great day. We started at the People Mover. Jake loves escalators, so this was a good beginning.

The only glitch was the ride through Space Mountain since it's in the dark and you can hear so much screaming. Dan held Jake, I held his hand, and we talked to him throughout that portion of the ride. Next we stopped at a huge Toy Story souvenir stand. Jake got a few things including this hat. He insisted on putting it on himself and just got very frustrated in the process.

The line at the race cars didn't seem too long, so that was our next stop. Jake waited patiently with Daddy for almost 30 minutes and never complained. Dan tried to put him in the driver's seat, but he wanted Daddy to do it.

Jake forgot his sunglasses. They were with Mommy. He was bothered so much by the sun that he borrowed Daddy's.

After this ride, Kate and Richie joined us at Magic Kingdom. We had a quick lunch together. After lunch it was treat time for Jake. We made a quick stop to take a picture at Dumbo, but the wait was almost an hour for the ride.

There was no wait for Small World, so that was our next stop. Jake really enjoyed that. There were quite a few kids around with balloons, so we promised that we would find one for him. Main Street was the place for that. This is one of my most favorite shots from the trip. It's straight out of the camera...no cropping or editing.

We went back to our room to relax and let Jake play with his new toys. I needed to get cleaned up to meet my Designer Digitals friend, Linda. She lives in Orlando and made the drive to our hotel for a quick visit.

Kate and Richie got back and cleaned up to meet more friends for dinner. Katie, our friend from England, was living with her friend, Chelsea, while she goes to school here in Orlando. The last time we saw Katie and her family was in 2006 in Marco Island, so we were really excited to see her again. We really enjoyed dinner with the girls at Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian. Yes, I spelled that correctly. ;)  We celebrated Jake's birthday yet again. Jake will probably now believe that birthdays go on for about a month.

I have one cute series of pictures from the arcade that I forgot to post. I can't believe I convinced my daughter to get in a photo booth with me.

Our last morning at Disney started with a character breakfast at Chef Mickey's before checkout. Jake may be scared of the Disney fireworks, but he is not scared of the characters! In fact when we got home he said, "I love Pluto, but I like Mickey best!" In the biggest shot, Goofy is doing a little dance for Jake.

Jake really got into the napkin waving dance. He continued performing long after the dance was over. Minnie came by and patted the crazy man on the head.

After breakfast we packed our things and loaded the car for Marco Island. It was a 4 hour journey. Jake has never been in the car for that long, so we weren't sure what to expect. He was a bit noisy and didn't fall asleep until the last hour, but he was manageable and pleasant.

Now I have to get busy and edit the Marco Island pictures!