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Yes, that is a real bed of nails that Lanny laid on. Too cool! We also got to see the beautifl temple in Florida!

Top 20

The kids are still asleep, so I'm trying to hurry and get some pictures up. Here, in no particular order are some of the favorites from our trip.
...the beach
...finding sharks teeth (seriously loved seeing the family effort! Way to go team!)
...meeting "the Mouse"
..."It's a Small World" ride (Grandma loved taking the kids on this)
..."Thunder Mountain" and "Splash Mountain"---Go Lanny, you brave kiddo
...the hotel swimming pools (there were three)
...Aunt Shawn and Uncle Billy's pool!
...seeing a real live alligator on our last day (well, I was excited)
...the plane ride (it tickled our tummies)
...spending time with family
...meeting Aunt Shawn and Uncle Billy (love you!)
...the sunset
...the palm trees
...the dead end structure (where electrical lines enter a substation, it was shaped like Mickey's head---this obviously was Aaron)
...Kessie's Princess balloon, it's all she wanted the whole day we were there
...cable (the kids loved watching TV)
...bag check at Epcot (This is me---they check everyone's purse or backpack, the old man there was hysterical and made me laugh, which made my day)
...Louie running free bird on the beach, she got quite upset when we said she couldn't be naked
...finding old Florida license plates (me again)
...watching Kessie and Aunt Shawn frolic
We had such a super time and have so many wonderful memories! We can't wait to go back---hint, hint, Aaron!

Hangin' In There

Okay, yes, I know I'm supposed to be putting up pictures of Florida, but give me a break, how can I choose between all of the great ones. So instead I thought I'd update everyone about Lanny. He has had a loose tooth that has been hangin' in there, literally, for weeks. It was so frustrating to Aaron because he just wanted to pull it out. The tooth has been at a 45-90 degree angle for over a week. Lanny told me that it hurt today, and started to bleed so I told him that when we got home (I had just picked him up from school) that he needed to let Daddy pull it out. No way was he going to let Daddy do it. As we drove Lanny said, "Mom, my tooth came out." "No way, you kidder!" Just to prove that it was true he handed it to me. He pulled it out, because that way it wouldn't hurt, but he was sure if Daddy did it, he would be in severe pain. He is pretty excited! He told me that now the Tooth Fairy is going to visit, but she'll have to dress warm (we're having a snow storm). He's pretty proud of his new grin! Yeah, Lanny, your first tooth!!!

On a side note, I found the real person "101 Dalmations" video today and showed it to Louie and said we could watch it tonight. She was confused because she thought it was the cartoon. I tried to explain it to her and to clarify she said, "Mom, is it the one where Cruella steals the puppies with Whisper and Jock?" (Me---giggle, giggle)! I thought she was pretty smart to remember their names so closely. (For those of you who don't know Cruella's henchman's names they're Horace and Jasper---Honey, that's you!)

We're Back

We're back, and wow, what a fun vacation we had. The weather in Florida was a bit chilly, but seriously, compared to here, it was beautiful! As soon as I get some time I'll post pictures, but as of yet, I still haven't even unpacked completely. The biggest problem is deciding which pictures to post. I took over 300, so I did really good and didn't take as many as I usually do. Aaron still says I can't print them all out, but ha, ha, I'm the one going to Walmart today, not him!
I'll list some highlights of our trip with the pictures, but here is a funny that happened after we returned.
In our rental car we requested a GPS so that we would never get lost! Yeah, that's a laugh. It helps if you know how to use one. So we got lost several times, one of which almost made us late to the airport, but we made it. Well, at the conference that Aaron attended several companies were giving away prizes if you put your business card in a jar. I personally was hoping to win the Wii, but alas, Aaron got a call on Monday, and surprise, surprise, he won a GPS!!! Yes, now we will forevermore be getting lost while trying to figure out how to use the thing. Life tends to be a bit ironic!

Sledding

Since we had a pretty big snow storm over the weekend, Lanny has been asking to go sledding. It has been a little, okay, way too cold. I told him we could go sledding on our neighbors hill as soon as it warmed up a bit. He was worried that if it warmed up the snow would melt. Unfortunately, this morning I had to inform him that we couldn't go sledding, no it has not warmed up, but the snow has all blown away into Nebraska. Louie wanted to see this for herself, so she looked out the sliding glass door into the backyard and holy cow! Apparently our fence makes a nice little wind break, and now we have our own massive sledding hill, which will probably be here until spring. So if you are in need of snow, we have our own private stockpile. I'm pretty glad that we're leaving for vacation in a few days. Or as Lanny says, "Only four more days until our fieldtrip!"
P.S. That is Grandpa's dog Yeller playing King of the Mountain.

The Brave Little Toaster

Yes, actually, Aaron does call Lanny "Toaster". And Lanny was beyond brave when he got his tonsils out on Thursday. He is doing great, and is loving all the ice cream and popsicles. We went down to Fort Collins on Thursday and I was amazed when he showed no fear. He calmly did everything the doctors and nurses asked of him. He didn't even get upset when they rolled him away from us for the surgery (this is exceptional considering we can't leave his room at night until he is asleep.) I got a bit upset as they took him away, but he was super-brave. He also did well coming out of anesthesia, it was horrible to watch, but no mom ever wants to see their child suffer. He has been very good about drinking fluids and hasn't hardly complained at all. He did give a bit of advice to Louie, which I will pass on.
Aaron went to pick up the girls from a friends and then came to get Lanny and I. The girls were thrilled to see Lanny and as he got in, aside from huge grins, I could hear squeals of, "Lanny", and "Brudder"! I didn't get to see his face, but Aaron said he was most serious as he loving looked at his sisters and said, "Louie, you do not want to get your tonsils out!"
I think that statement pretty much sums up the whole ordeal.

Hungry!?!

Maybe we just had breakfast, but that doesn't mean that I'm not starving my children. I only realized this a moment ago. Louie and Kessie kept asking for a snack (their idea of a snack is candy.) Since it was barely 9:30 I didn't think they needed one quite yet. I was working in my scrapbooking room when I heard a rip so I turned around and Kessie was sitting in the doorway with a book. She had ripped out a page and was proceeding to eat it. She stuffed it in her mouth and when I told her to spit it out she refused. Instead she looked up at me and said, "Yummy, Mom!" Yes, I did the only thing a caring mom would do and I grabbed my camera. After a few shots, I ran to the kitchen and got her a snack, poor starving girl!
Side note: She refused to eat the graham crackers, but she managed to eat all of the fruit snacks!
Seriously, is she missing fiber in her diet or something, or maybe she really was listening in church when they told us to feast upon the words of Christ. (This book was Casper the Friendly Ghost, but you gotta start somewhere I guess.)