Quotes heard around Disneyland

Pappa: Ethan tell me about that plane ride!
Ethan: You were on it!

Pappa: Levi did you shave this morning?
Levi: No I didn't! I just don't have mustaches! [I wasn't there, but I would bet he had both his arms out to the side with his palms facing up as he was saying this!]

Libby: I wanna ride on a miracle round!

Levi: Don't tell anyone that we're having snakes for breakfast!  [Can't remember the explanation for this one...I'm thinking they had milkshakes for breakfast??]

Rachel: (driving down freeway) This doesn't look like Disneyland to me...

Ethan: I'm so hungry I'm gonna die.
Addison: Ok then, die.

E: One time I held a chick at school.
A: One time I held a bunny.
R: Boooooring.

Libby: One time daddy threw a rock at a bird and hit it's tail and hurt it and I tried to make it better but it just flew away.
Addi: And now Levi won't stop calling daddy a murderer.

Libby: One time at school, an earthworm crawled in my pants. But it didn't crawl in my panties. It held up my panties with it's mouth. And then it crawled out of my pants and we threw them away because they had earthworm stuff on them. And then I almost stepped on Ms. wormy. That's what I named her.  [No explanation for this one either!]

R: (the weenie falls out of her corn dog) Awwwww man! But at least I can use it as a telescope!

A: We're going to burn a lot of calories today!!

Libby: Disneyland is not like I thought it would be.
Kelsi: How did you think it would be?
Libby: Like...lots of fun. [Classic Libby!]

A: Kelsi, I think you're going to be a good mommy. [ :) ]

Libby: This is making me seasick! I really really like it!

Libby: There's blood on my ear. And I know it's not ketchup. How would I get ketchup on my ear?

Libby: Ethan, did you know that Rachel is crazy?
E: Yup!

Libby: I wanna ride the rabbits! [rapids]



Bryan's parents took the kids to Disneyland with their two cousins, Ethan and Rachel, and with help from B's cousin, Kelsi.  *Everyday, I hear how they want to go back :)  Kelsi recorded funny things she heard and sent a lot of picture texts.  That combined with the detailed descriptions we got from Addi made it seem like we were there.  Only, we didn't have to wait in any lines.  Sweet!

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

One HOT day this summer, the 3 and I met Ethan, Rachel and Aunt Lisa at the Museum of Science and History in Fort Worth. The kids had never been before and it had been many years since I'd been. While it's a little expensive, it was a great experience. Thankfully, Levi was free and we were able to use 2 of the Aunt Lisa's passes, so I only had to buy 1 admission. We also bought tickets for a movie in the planetarium. My kids still talk about that movie!

Around lunchtime, we headed for McDonalds. Then we went back for a little more fun, including digging for fossils. We let the kids play (in their clothes!) in the fountain before we left. I think Levi's wondering what his silly sisters and cousins are doing while they posed for the picture below. :)

We are alive!

We've just been really busy lately and I neglected posting about our fun weekend trip to College Station. It's been almost 2 weekends ago now - oops!

Anyway, Bryan was in Houston most of the week, so the kids and I drove to College Station on Saturday morning. But, first we stopped (and met Grandpa and Uncle Brett) in Levi, TX. I wanted to get a picture of the "Levi, Population 50" sign. However, there isn't one, so I had to settle for this road sign. It was the only thing, besides an address on a mailbox, that said Levi. Oh, if you're wondering, Levi was totally impressed with the town he was named after. :)

Our next stop was in Reagan, TX. My sister in law gave me a black and white photo of the old Reagan post office building one year for my birthday. It made me cry, so I wanted to go back and get a picture of our Reagan standing in front of the building. Sadly, it is now an eating establishment, but Grandpa thought we should still get the picture. I'm glad we did. The next time we drive through it could be gone. (And, yes the wind was fierce. You just have to take my word for it that the little girl sitting atop my father's shoulders is, in fact, Reagan.)

Next stop - Olsen Field for peanuts and popcorn...

and snow cones...

and cotton candy!

We said goodbye to Grandpa and Uncle Brett as they headed home and we hit the road for Houston. We met Bryan at his hotel and everyone fell asleep early. The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel, loaded the car, dropped off Bryan's rental and set out for College Station again. That afternoon we attended a ring ceremony for one of Bryan's closest friends from college who gave his life in service to our country. It was a moving ceremony with plenty of memories and old friends.

There were a lot of people there, including Governor Perry. This thrilled Addi beyond words since her class recently finished their Texas unit.

We're not so sure Levi's a republican!

Levi finally warmed up to the govenor while he tried to teach Levi how to stick his thumb up without sticking any other fingers up. The girls have it and Levi sort of got it. (Incidentally, we're not so sure Levi's an Aggie either :)

Major Glenn and his family were there.

A bunch of kids were there.

Christian was there. His mom and dad were there too, but I didn't get a picture with them.

I did, however, snap this picture of my child licking the glass inside a revolving door right before I told him to stop licking the glass because that is disgusting!

It was a good weekend. Ideally we would've had time to walk around campus and bore our children to tears, but Addi had school the next day and it's a 3+ hour drive back home. The girls did have fun in this huge Aggie ring outside the Former Students building. Levi was asleep in Bryan's arms or he would've been right in the middle of this picture.

After a meal at Wings N More (yummy!) with the Starrs, we made the trip back home.

And, I've been recovering ever since. :) Not really, but that would be a good excuse for my lack of blogging!

day 109 - another hint...

happy birthday, aunt lisa!

Untitled from ginny parker on Vimeo.

day 104

happy bday poppa from ginny parker on Vimeo.

day 101

Untitled from ginny parker on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday, GRANDPA! We love you!

Addi is missing, I didn't get the video done before she left for her sleep over, but she called to wish him a happy birthday earlier. She'll be mad when she finds out she was left out. :)

photo 88+

We celebrated Levi's 2nd birthday on Saturday. I cooked lunch: brisket, potatoes, and beans. Kroger baked and decorated cupcakes. Bryan provided the most obnoxious Elmo balloon ever created. It's bigger than Levi and plays Elmo singing Happy Birthday to You every time it's touched. By lunchtime on Sunday, Libby, who has quite a tolerance for all things obnoxious, requested the balloon be taken away from the table because she was sick of hearing that song. And, just in case I was thinking of leaving the balloon, she said, "Sick of means I don't want to hear that balloon singing anymore!" Local family members shared in our celebration and brought more boy toys to compete with all our girl toys. Levi enjoyed opening all the gifts, but had trouble moving on to each new gift.

Addi and Libby both had jobs during the present opening. Libby brought the gifts in from the other room and Addi recorded all the presents with the corresponding givers. After a combined 12 kids' birthday parties I've hosted, I finally figured out to do this for the 13th party. Now, I won't have to worry that I'm writing "Thank you so much for the fire truck" when the recipient of the note really gave a football. Somehow presents and cards get all mixed up at a childs' party. Why didn't I think of it sooner?!

You know what unnaturally green icing does to poop? You don't want to know!

This is the one picture I got of Levi with someone. I had such plans since I wanted to make him a Snapfish flipbook of him with everyone who loves him and realized I didn't have one single picture of him with certain key people. The good news is I was able to get a shot of him with his Aunt Lisa. The bad news is that wasn't a picture I was missing. :)

Maybe for the 14th kids' party I host I'll hire a photographer to capture it. Hmmmm...not a bad idea.

We'll be leavin' on jet plane

bound for New York in just 2 days!

So, I'm blogging. It's not like I have anything else to do! I know it makes no sense, I don't blog for week(s) and then decide to write a catch-up post when I should be packing, cleaning, cooking, etc., etc., etc. I work well under the pressure of a deadline. At least, that's what I tell myself. :)

Since I last posted, we've been busy.

Levi has had lots of time to play with Zoe. It has either rained or been too cold (or both!) for her to stay outside. She's an old dog and used to thrive outdoors in ice, snow, wind, and rain, but now we bring her in on especially cold days/nights. On the few sunny days we've had, she's begged to go out. That causes Levi to either stand at the back door calling her or follow me around begging to go "'side ZoZo?"

How he loves that dog!

Bryan has been to Houston a few times for work and was able to stay last weekend so he could make the short drive to College Station for one of his best buddies promotion party. Congratulations, Major Glenn! I didn't even think of sending him with the camera so we have no pictures of the weekend. Maybe that's actually better since I've happened upon some of the pictures he has from college with all his buddies. Surely they've matured since then, right?! He had a great time and best of all (for him) he missed the stomach bug Addi brought home from school on Friday. I didn't get any pictures of that event either. You're welcome.




My parents came over just before bedtime one night with ice cream and all the fixings. The kids had a blast making sundaes and them gobbling them up! They didn't stay long, claiming they didn't want to keep the kids up too late, fleeing before the sugar had time to really affect the little darlings. The joys of grandparent-hood!



Thanks, Grammy and Grandpa for cementing in their minds that I will never be as fun as their grandparents. :) (I'm being completely genuine in my appreciation. Otherwise I wouldn't have as ready an excuse when I deny fun..."Sorry that's a Grammy/Nana thing!")



I've also decided to finish begin finishing work on a project I started before Addi's birthday. In November. I saw somewhere on a blog, and I wish I knew where, a project this lady did in her playroom. She took cute, colorful scrapbook paper and used glue dots to attach them to one wall. The result was an adorable patchwork looking wall! I thought it would be perfect for two spots in Addison's room. I waited until the scrapbook paper was 50% off at Hobby Lobby. After I had all my supplies I climbed a ladder one Sunday evening (thinking it would only take about a hour or so) to attach the squares. Then I realized what I'd gotten myself into. You see the wall I saw was a regular, perpendicular-to-the-floor wall. The walls I am working on are angled. It took about 3 minutes for the papers to begin fluttering to the floor. After a few more trips to Hobby Lobby, I was convinced I would have to hot glue those babies to the ceiling/walls and I wasn't sure how that would look in a few years when she wants a room redo. I consulted with a good, crafty friend and she mentioned ModPodge. I had started mulling over attaching the papers to poster boards and then tacking the poster boards to the ceiling/walls. So, a couple nights ago, my strong, handsome, awesome husband moved a couple 6-foot tables into our entryway from the garage. Yesterday I began "gluing" the papers down and then ModPodge-ing over them. It has gotten way complicated, but I'm determined to win this one! Because the size of the papers do not divide evenly into the size of the poster boards, I have to deal with overlap. I plan on lightly ModPodge-ing the overlaps into place once I have all the posters up. This is what it looks like so far. Keep in mind the papers hanging down are the overlap pieces, including about 4 inches of the tops from each on the top row.

When I first brainstormed this project, I knew the corner would be difficult. I'm worried about it now since the "easy" part has been anything but!

The other two walls are normal angles. I'm so thankful now that I only have 2 ceiling/walls to do! That took 4 poster boards and 1 more will be more than enough for the rest of that wall. I'll have to do at least 4 on top of those and the same amount on the other side. I should be done before Christmas! Then I'll just have to get her curtains made, but maybe I won't do those since the last time we completed her room, we found out a couple months later we'd be moving. :)

If I ever finish When I finish, I'll be sure to post pictures.

Now I'm off to eat lunch, finish packing Libby and Levi (because they're going to Poppa and Nana's "in just 2 days!" I've heard all day), lightly ModPodge in Addi's room, shower (no, I haven't done that yet today!), and pick Addi up from school. Then we'll do homework, do chores, cook supper, eat, take baths, put the kids to bed, and I'll pack myself. And, then I fall into bed thinking up new projects to waste my time and make my life more complicated!

Oh, by the way, I'm totally counting these pics as photos for today (and yesterday and the day before...). :)

photos 54, 55, 56, & 57

Okay, so I'm cheating, a little. You and I both know it, so I'll just be upfront and admit it. We've had a crazy week. Crazy doesn't really do our week justice, but I don't think I have the words to elaborate at the moment. The crazy isn't over and most of you already know what's going on (the rest of you will as soon I as can find a way to record my thoughts) and there are still some people I'd like to tell "in person" via the phone before they read it on our blog. I'll just say, Wednesday was Crazy-Horrible, Thursday was Crazy-Better, and Friday was Crazy-a-Little-Better-Still. We're praying for everything to end up Crazy-Great and for peace about all the Craziness.

On to the pictures...

My Little Angel at her Christmas Program

Showing off her moves

Grammy and Grandpa came bearing gifts

Not feeling so angelic :)

eavesdropping

{libby and her cousin, ethan coloring at the kitchen table}

libby: We need to be careful with these markers and not get them on the table. I think it's a very special table.
ethan: No, it's a very old table.
libby: No, it's not! It is not old!
ethan: Yes, it is! Look at that big crack down the middle of it!

FYI, there are actually 2 "big cracks" where the leaf meets the table. :) And, the table is far from special. Bryan and I bought it for very little money a few years ago off Craigslist!

To: Nana

We love you and are praying for you, Nana!

photo 45

Thanksgiving Celebrations

The kids helped serve lunch at the Thanksgiving Senior Lunch my mom hosts each year at her job.

Libs passed out rolls.

Addison scooped the dressing.

The 3 passed out pieces of pie.

Day-Before-Thanksgiving Dinner with my mom's side of the family

Levi was a little clingy that night.... "Momma, Momma, Momma!" But, Natalie and Kate knew the way to his heart!

My side of the table, except you can't see much of my Meme.

The other side of the table, minus Kate and Natalie. You see why Bryan has nicknamed Libby "Busy" since she was able to make it into both sides of the table pictures. :)

Levi fussed and whined a lot that night. Libby moved around a lot that night. Addi sat patiently and ate her food that night.

Dessert and playtime at Meme and Papa's

Thanksgiving Day at Bryan's cousin's home

Most of the young cousins on the trampoline

The little ones perfectly content... A few minutes later one was on his way to the ER and another one had fallen flat back hitting her head on the tile. A couple hours later everyone was back and perfectly content again.

I guess after all that excitement I forgot to take any more pictures. I can only imagine my reaction had one of those emergencies actually happened to one of my kids. :)

Hope you had a relaxing Thanksgiving filled with many blessings.