handsful

At least that’s what we eventually decided.

Abbey’s good friend from Florida, Angelina, invited her to go to Disney with her family to celebrate her 16th birthday. At first we thought “how do we GET her there”? It’s a long way to FL, and it seemed a waste to have Randy drive her there and back by himself.

So, we ended up making it a quick family vacation to Magic Kingdom. Dylan’s first time, Lainey’s second, who knows what time for the rest of us. We had yearly passes when we lived in Jax, and took advantage of that quite well.

We arrived Thursday night, big kids had a quick swim in the heated outdoor pool, and then we all headed to bed. After a quick breakfast at the hotel on Friday, Angelina’s family picked up Abbey and we all headed to the park.

It was odd, having just 5 kids with us…the group shots are missing something! Or someone.

They still had their Christmas decorations up, and were playing Christmas music. We were told it was the last day for that…

Payton’s favorite attraction

Obviously…same shot we took back in April 2010! I think he’s changed the most since our last Disney trip.

Zurg captured Dylan!

Tea Cup ride…given my dislike for anything that spins (and knowing full well that Randy would spin it as FAST as he possibly could), I took pictures.

Payton does a perfect Stitch voice, so he and the blue guy had a conversation.

I think Lainey has gotten over her fear of characters…finally.

January 2012

April 2010

He almost got it!

I caught the boys doing a little dance to polka music.

Then, Randy found a friend in the Haunted Mansion graveyard. Will the goofiness ever end?

This wall played music when you touched the different instruments…very cool!

Sadly…

I must…

post all…

of the stocks pictures.

And, then it was nighttime.

Electric parade :)

Then, we headed up to Main Street for the fireworks… The castle was so pretty, draped in Christmas lights!

Yes, there’s a big bush in front of the castle. We did the best we could to find a spot to watch. Apparently, everyone in the free world was at Disney that day. So much for lower crowds in January!

The fireworks were put to music…it was really beautiful.

Finally met up with Abbey! Her and Angelina have been great friends for years, I’m glad to see that hundreds of miles haven’t changed that.

All 6, together at last. It was a fun, hectic, incredible, exhausting day. Disney, you really know how to throw a party.

We crashed at the hotel Friday night, and got back on the road the next day. But, not before meeting up with some special friends of ours in Orlando. Pictures of that next…

I’ve lived in NC (with the exception of years 2004-2010) since I was a year old, but I’d never been to Asheville to visit the Biltmore Mansion. Randy had gone as a child, but didn’t remember much.

This past Thursday, we made the 2 hour trip.

We started with a yummy dinner at Vinnie’s, and then relaxed at the hotel till bedtime. The next morning, the kids had to take a quick jump into the hot tub…I grumbled about being “late” to the mansion, but I got over it.

Kids showered and changed, we made it to Biltmore around 11:30. After going over what the day-admission fee would be vs. the cost of a year’s membership, we went with the latter. We actually spent less money on the membership than we would have a day ticket, since members 16 and under are admitted free. I guess we’ll be doing Biltmore a lot in 2012!

Outside pictures. Did you know, you can’t take ANY photos inside?!? I was miffed, but then realized that I would have spent so much time taking pictures that I would have missed the details of the tour.

We decided to take a self-guided tour, using the headsets with recorded messages for each room…so much better than listening to a tour guide.

The tour took about 2 hours and we were starved afterwards! We walked straight to the Stable Cafe next door…

This restaurant used to be…you guessed it…the stables back in the day. It was just gorgeous and I loved thinking about the people (and animals!) that lived and worked where I was currently eating lunch.

Yes, that’s my lemon-overloaded tea in the foreground.

After we were pleasantly full, we headed to the shops nearby. Christmas decorations, books, toys, etc. The Confectionery was a favorite stop, and helped top off our lunch with a little something sweet. Payton had his eyes on something a bit bigger…

Before we knew it, night had fallen and the place started to really light up. We walked down to Antler Hill Village, where there is a farm (we missed it…it was already closed…we’ll visit that FIRST next time) and the kids goofed around a little.

A statue of George Washington Vanderbilt’s daughter, Cornelia, and her dog Cedric.

How you doin’?

We rode back up to the house, had some pastries and hot chocolate, and then headed home.

Can’t wait to go back…we’re told January is their least busiest month (with December being the most), so I’m hoping we can make another quick trip to Asheville soon!

We grew up going to the NC State Fair. Missed a few years while in Florida, but we’re back on track now. We took the crew, plus a tall boy, my good friend, and her daughter.

A little tree climbing while we ate

We arrived right at lunch time, so off to the Apex Lion’s Club booth…a fair tradition for 20+ years. They serve PIIIIIIEEE!!

We let the big kids go off on their own for a few hours, while Randy, Kelley, and I took the littles to the kiddie rides.

Meeting up with the big kids, they (including Randy) rode this crazy ride that went all directions and at the speed of sound. I watched from the safety of mother earth.

A little bungee jumping for L and D

On the midway, the kids played a few games, Abbey got a henna tattoo of “love” in Mandarin, and Payton had his artwork turned into an airbrush tee. He drew Harry, they enlarged it, and the guy traced it with the airbrush. So cool!

We ate at the fair. You just have to, there is so much to sample and enjoy…and try not to regret later. Payton and Ethan wanted to try these last year, but we talked sense into them. This year, we thought “why not?” In this picture, my dear readers, is a hamburger made with doughnuts instead of buns. Can you imagine?

We had a blast at the fair, and spent almost 10 hours there. It was a late ride home, but oh so worth it.

It’s great to be home, but we loved our time in Florida! We will always go back to Jax, our second home.

We moved the kids out of church on Friday – it was beyond hot. 1000% humidity and about 96 degrees. That’s one part of Florida living I do NOT miss. We drove the kids back to the condo, dropped off their bags, let them jump in the pool for about 15 minutes to cool off, and then drove them back to church for Power Surge.

Move over, Superman. We’ve got the real superhero :)

The highlight for Lainey was having her hair sprayed with lots of pretty colors!

Dylan just wanted to get WET! All the slides, etc. involved water. Great idea, since it was HOT. Have I mentioned that?

Lainey loved the water slides, but was a bit concerned it would wash out her color. Such a girl.

Dylan gets a little help from Abigail.

Our kids love their friend Nate…in fact, we decided to bring him back to NC with us. He’s here till Saturday. Everyone is happy to have him here!

After Power Surge, we loaded the kids into the van (Nate, and Abbey’s friend Angelina too) and headed back to the condo in St. Augustine. We were just in time for swimming at the pool, and a quick night-time walk on the beach. (I stayed back to put the littles in bed).

Morning came quickly, and the big kids needed a little more beach time before check-out time at 10am. Randy obliged them and brought along the camera.

After driving Angelina home, we began our trip back to NC. No one got sick, not much traffic, kids did great. Uneventful, which is the best kind of drive!

Now, as expected, school is right around the corner and I’m holding back the panic. Lots of do to get prepared, where exactly did summer go?!? :)

We made it to Ethan and Abbey’s clubs yesterday. I LOVE seeing my kids putting it all out there for those kids! Giving it their all, their best – despite INTENSE heat, little sleep, and non-stop schedule.

Ethan’s 5:00 club…

I got a chance to talk to Ethan for a second during a break, and asked him how this PUC compared to last years. Was it better, or the same? He said it was about the same. Hmmm…not what I expected. Then, he came back with “Well, it couldn’t possibly get any better.” Smile.

We totally forgot that it was “water day”, so our kids had no swimsuits. Oh well.

Dylan wanted to help with bucket duty.

Drench!!

A little help from big brother

EJ scores high on the slip n’ slide!

Next, we headed to Abbey’s 6:45 club…

Abbey is beside Lainey. This photo cracked me up, you can see the little girl staring at Dylan’s leg and thinking “what is THAT?”

Lainey was getting into the dancing this year! Dylan spent most of the time stomping around. Oh, and you see they have swimsuits on now? We made a quick run to the clearance aisle.

Looks cold, huh?

Dad helps Abbey stay cool.

slip n’ slide, Abbey style

Dylan decided to sit out the water games at Abbey’s club. But, he was happy to take a treat.

Simply here to prove I was there. I’m talking to Cheryl, the host of the club. Her and her husband are the sweetest.

Today, we relaxed around the condo for a while and then went out to buy a cargo carrier for the van. This one attaches to the back and will hold most of our big luggage. Our “megavan” has lots of room for people, but it’s lacking in storage…especially on big trips.

After we got back home, it was time for a swim. Dylan has AMAZED us on this trip. Prior to this week, he was very comfortable in the water in his floaties, would dip down for a second or two, and would jump into the water with floaties. Today, he was full-fledged swimming – under water – no floaties. He had excellent breath control, staying under for a long time! I’m so proud of the little guy.

On this, our last vacation night with just the four of us, we went out for seafood and then had a nighttime walk on the beach.

We’ve really enjoyed our time here, but we’re ready for home. And, more than ready to be together with all 8 of us!

Being in St. Augustine means we’re only about a 2 hour drive from Dylan’s Luoyang buddy, Hope. She lives in Orlando.

So, what else could we do but drive to Orlando!

We met Hope and her sweet Mama, Amy, at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney for lunch. The kids loved it, moving jungle animals everywhere (they were happier once they were told they weren’t real), rain sprinkling down from the ceiling (but magically not landing on anyone), and thunderstorms that occurred every 30 minutes.

Lainey scored a cool frog cup.

After lunch, both of them ended up on Amy’s lap.

We hung out and talked and talked, while Dylan and Hope shook salt onto the table and blew it off. Maybe not the best parenting decision, but they thought it was a hoot.

Time to get out into the heat…I mean sunshine. Hope grabbed Lainey’s hand, and Dylan “helped” Amy push the stroller.

We stopped them every few feet to take pictures. They didn’t mind too much.

It’s just in his nature…he’s a kisser. Not sure what this means for his teenage years.

All aboard…

Time to play…shopping was a welcome relief from the heat. Did I mention we were in Orlando? In August?

Merry go round…Amy made a joke about Dylan riding on a white horse. She’s already referring to me as the mother in law. I see nothing wrong with arranged marriage!?

Hope seems on board with the whole idea, too.

They had a blast playing in the photo booth. We skipped the $5 per picture and just let them push the buttons.

Randy goofed around, too. His brother would appreciate this picture, he just loves snakes. Heh.

Goofy’s candy store had a “goofy” mirror.

High top!

Amy liked the image of her looking tall and lean!

Time to go and say our goodbyes.

We look forward to our next get-together…already talking about meeting at the CCAI reunion next summer.

We had a lazy morning…no pictures of that.

Then, we decided to hit the beach. We only lasted an hour or so, it was just too hot. I realized that I’m more of a late afternoon beach person.

Only Lainey would do this!

We then made the drive to Jax to attend Marley and Payton’s Power Up Clubs. First one was at 5pm.

The clouds looked BAD, but they held off until 5 minutes before the club was over.

Marley helped her little brother with some of the games.

Last year this time at the clubs, Lainey refused to participate in any of the club activities. She was just too shy. I’m so happy to see her jumping right in this year!

Dylan makes friends quickly.

Payton’s club began at 6:45.

Payton walks up for his part in the skit. He’s the guy who thinks if he drinks gallons of milk and eats tons of cereal that he’ll become a big, strong Superhero. He learns that God cares about what’s inside us, and not what’s on the outside.

It’s blurry, but I had to show Lainey playing in a relay race with hopping balls!

Drip, drip, drop. (Think duck, duck, goose – only with water) I love Payton’s face as the water falls, and Lainey’s face watching! Lainey never did get dropped on, so her sweet brother got her good with a full cup of water later. She squealed.

Payton is also his club’s “Surginator” – the guy who gets the kids psyched about Friday’s Power Surge event at the church. Food, rides, prizes, fun!

He gets into his role. Apparently, Dylan felt he needed some rain protection!

Tomorrow, we drive to Orlando to visit again with Dylan’s friend Hope and her family!! We’ll visit more clubs tomorrow night, too. So far this vacation is a ton of fun, but not terribly relaxing!