Precious Moment...pooping on the potty:)

Last night I was making sugar cookies when I turned my head to see Isabella dashing by the kitchen and than into the upstairs bathroom. Bry was putting her to bed, so I knew she was making the last trip to the bathroom before story time.

As I rolled out my cookies, this is what I heard...

"Do do.....do da do da do...do do....I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" (she was singing Bella Knudson's song from the dance recital:).

Than I heard,

"Dear God, I just love you so much, some day I'm going to have my own baby. I know you know how much I love you and it's just so cool"

At this point I stop breathing, in order to be as quiet as possible and start tiptoeing to the bathroom. From the hallway, I can see by the reflection in the mirror that she is still on the toilet. I continue to not breath, hoping to catch every word.

"And I know you try to help the bad guys be good. But the bad guys in the movie, they're just pretend. But I know you want to help Satan be good and I love you for that".

My favorite times with Isabella as of late are times of prayer. We pray before meals, in the car in the morning to start our day, and at bedtime. Sometimes Isabella initiates a spontaneous prayer, like the one above while pooping on the potty. I think it's one of my favorite prayers of hers, it was a private moment I got to spy in on...a pure beautiful moment between her and God...an independent moment of prayer from a 4 year old.

Isabella at prayer is beautiful. She has a very mature style of prayer, from her requests to the language she uses. I know some of it is imitating things she has heard or ways she has heard people pray. She uses the phrase, "I just" a lot which is really quite precious,

"God, I just want to thank you for your heart"

"God, I just want to ask you for food for all the boys and girls"

"God, I just want to thank you for forgiving the sins"

Forever I will remember her 'pooping prayer' from last night:) Classic Isabella that such a sweet moment would happen while she was on the toilet:)

Someone's getting old around here...

...and it's not me...or Bryan...or Veronica. Hmmmmmm...ISABELLA, you're right!!! Since Isabella turned 4 in June, we have had to accept the fact that she is really growing up. There were a couple of specific moments that seemed to define this for me as her momma...

*The day in August when I dropped Isabella at Grandma Grace's while I took Veronica to a doctor's appoinment. Isabella told me she could go into Grandma's all by herself. So I unbuckled her and she hoped out of the minivan onto the driveway and into the garage and into Grandma's house....all...by...herself! This was the oddest moment for me, it was as if time stood still and I watched her grow up before my very eyes in a matter of seconds. It was almost as if she was leaving me to start a new journey. She was very proud of herself. It was a precious moment...one that is captured upon my heart forever.

*Isabella went to her first birthday party this fall without Mom or Dad there. It was Reagan Fontaine's bday...her parents are very good friends of ours. They've watched her for me during work before, they're people we're very comfortable with. But there was just somethign about her going off to a bday party without one of us there....sigh:)

*Isabella also went an her first 'authentic' solo playdate this fall when our neighbors invited her to go bowling with them. I was at work and Bryan stayed home with a napping Veronica. Off Isabella went with the Mitzel's for bowling and pizza.

This fall has proved interesting with Isabella and her journey as she grows up. There are growing pains and a lot of confused feelings and emotions about growing up. Isabella gets frustrated at times with not always being able to make her own decisions or choices all the time. She wants to be able to decide her day's agenda and when she plays with you, she wants to be able to decide how you will play. To some extent, this is her personality...she is without a doubt a leader and is really good at organizing pretend games and play with groups of friends. Some of her shyer friends are very appreciative of this aspect of Isabella's personality...it is helpful for them to have some one to look to for direction. But frustratoin can rear it's ugly head and bring out the not so great side of Isabella when she is not able to wear summer clothes during cold weather, when she can't go to a friend's house, when she can't paint on a particular day, etc...One day she told me with great frustration and contempt, "I just want to be like you, I hate being little". I sensed her need to vent and so I asked her to tell me what she hated about being little (I even let me normal chidng of 'We don't say hate, we say I don't like' go...it didn't seem the right or necessary time). Isabella started in "I want to be like you. You never get in trouble and you get to do whatever you want whenever you want. When I have a baby I will be in charge of them and than I will get to tell them what to do". There was more but that is the general gist. She was a ver frustrated little girl. I really felt for her. She wasn't being a whiny kid in this instance...she was really feeling all of this and felt like noone understood. I was glad she expressed herself to me and I hope she'll always be able to be honest with me. I just wish I could come up with something helpful to say to her. I empathize...I spent a lot of years just wishing I could be a grown-up, so I get where she is coming from.

Than there is the other side, which we seem to hear much more frequently, "I don't want to grow up, do I have to grow up? Can I be little forever?". These questions are asked with big brown eyes filled with fear and anxiousness and sometimes with Isabella on the verge of tears. I often don't know what I'm supposed to do or how I am supposed to answer these questions. When she asks me if she can please live with me forever, I tell her ABSOLUTELY:) I don't know if this is right or wrong, but how I ache to just comfort he and ease her fears in those moments. As of late, she will tell me that she is going to move to her own house, but it will be right by our house...but than she will ask Bryan and I if we will come and live in her house...than she will ask me if I can babysit her babies...than she will tell me that I will need to still drive her places, like Target, because she doesn't know how to get there by herself:)

Isabella is so young, but I can tell that in her head she is really struggling with this whole concept of growing up. There is this part of her that just wants to take off and fly and go to 2nd grade (like her big cousin Katie) and dance with the big girls on stage at the recital and than there is the other part that wants to stay with Mom and Dad forever and have us drive her to Target until she is a little old lady:) I don't have a lot of the answers, but I just know that Bryan and I will be there to help her out every step of the way as best we can.

Turkey Twist...an unexpected turn of events

I could feel Isabella next to me in bed, the little moves, the little moans, cries...I knew...

Bry at one point brought out the 'Dad Voice' and said, "No more messing around or you're going back to your own bed". But I knew she wasn't messing around and sure enough by 6:45 this morning her little body was on fire with fever. So down to the family room we went and made a bed on the couch for her and put on her favorite cartoons. When I asked what hurt, Isabella told me, "Everything...my body is broken"...sad:(

The day went off and on...when the fever was raging, Isabella was very quiet and snuggled into my lap. When it broke, she suddenly snapped back to her normal self. So the day ended up being a little 'quieter' than normal in our party household...however, I think Veronica made up for it by being extra LOUD today...ha ha:)

So here's some highlights from our Turkey Day:)

*What's a Thanksgiving Day Parade without a little candy???? Our children will never be able to accuse us of not being any fun! We set the girls up in our bedroom to watch the parade on tv so we could get to some cooking. Bryan grabbed our bottomless bowl of Halloween candy and from the doorway, threw candy at the kids onto the bed, as if they were at a 'real' parade getting candy thrown at them. Isabella later told Grandma and Papa that the tv threw candy at them:)

*Turkey Dinner is a family affair!!! The girls both made their contributions in the kitchen! They were great green bean casserole helpers, assisting with putting the ingredients together. Isabella also made her own creation which consisted of apples, celery, salt, and pepper...yummy! Also of note, Isabella told us while helping that "I already did this before when I was at High School Musical, when I lived with a different family, so I already know how to do this"...hmmm, interesting.

*VERONICA...V was particularly animated and spunky today...even more than usual if that is possible:) From showing us how she has learned to muff Isabella's Care Bear blankie to inhaling cranberries and lefse, she was a hoot!!!! Our Thanksgiving feast fell over naptime, so this made things interesting...Veronica would get in a mood throughout parts of the meal and she would puff out her Angelina Jolie lips and give us 'the eyes' - a look worthy of a 13 year old and than march downstairs with quite the spunk in her step proclaiming, "I going to watch Pocahontas" (her new obcession - she LOVES Pocahontas!). She was also particulary precious as she made her contribution to the meal time prayer, which was said all in whispers and began as it always does with "God is great", but I'm not usually able to decipher anything after that. But her eyes are sparkling, checking everyone out to see if they are listening to her prayer, and her little hands are clasped tight...it's pretty cute! We also got a big kick out of watching her skirt fall off throughout the day...these girls, they just do not have the bellies required to keep their clothes up!!!

*Isabella snuggles for Mommy...for whatever reason, I was the chosen one today when Isabella's fever would come on. She wanted to snuggle only Momma...this felt great. Lately Isabella and I seem to have a relationship that resembles that of a mother and a teenager:) She's been much more receptive to Daddy and I've respected that. It felt great to be needed today and to sing her the 'Papa had a baby' song and to stroke her hair, my heart almost breaking looking at the glazed over eyes that were so lifeless. What a beautiful girl, I love her soooooo much...even when she doesn't love me so much and tells me she is going to live with a different family (to which I told her that I would get the phone book out and start looking for a new family for her - how very adult of me...ah parenting, aren't these babies supposed to come out of the womb with an instruction book attached???? Ha ha ha!).

*Playing Elephun with Papa!!! But Papa kept trying to cheat by putting his net over the elephant's trunk! Isabella let him have it on that one:)

*Platters...this sounds silly, I know! The first year we were married, right before T-day, I saw these glass platters with a leaf design at Macy's that I just loved. I tried to resist, but the night before Thanksgiving, I dashed out to get them and every year we have hosted we use them. Whenever I pull them out, I'm filled with such nostalgia of our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and I hope that 50 years from now, I'll be pulling them out to use again and reflecting on how thankful I am for such a wonderful husband and fulfilling marriage.

*Daddy...WOW!!! Daddy effortlessly puts together the Thanksgiving meal pretty much on his own every year with a happy heart and without making me feel bad about my lack of skill in the kitchen. I make the pickle roll-ups, set the table (with our wedding china this year - what good memories - I love that china), run to the grocery store to get the forgotten onion, and dress the girls. Thanks DADDY!!! You are a wonder and the best part is that you do it with such happiness and joy, sharing the process with the girls, and appreciating what little contribution I can give!

Two Little Turkeys

Can you say SURPRISE??????

For the record...I turned 30 on November 14th and am LOVING IT!!! I had no issues with turning 30...I was excited and thankful! I look at my life and where things are at at age 30 and I couldn't be happier! 30 is GOOD!!!! Plus I hear you're supposed to suddenly get a whole lot wiser and smarter at 30...we'll see if that happens:)

That said, I'm not such a big fan of having big parties in my honor...which many find hilarious since I tend to throw big parties for my kiddos and Bryan. I never really had super big parties growing up...mainly due to the fact that my parents seemed to break out in hives if there were more than 5 of my friends in the house (just teasing Mom and Dad, but I think we all know you're not the super huge party kind of parents:). I spent most of my birthdays in college working...for whatever reason, I never saw the point of taking off work for my birthday. This even crossed into bridal and baby showers. The morning of my bridal shower I thought I was going to throw up...the thought of all of those people watching me...it made me want to stay in bed:)

So when the subject of my big 3-0 came up, I was fine with doing nothing and was relieved to discover we had a wedding to attend in MSP on my actual birthday...PERFECT...I could than avoid any attention being put on my bday!!! Bryan asked if I wanted to do anything...I claimed our Disney trip as my bday celebration and he was cool with that.

Little did I know that Debbie, Laura, and Tami had begun concoting a plan back at the end of September for a surprise party...along with Bry's help and permission. As Bry said, "I just ok'ed the plan and wrote the check"...I thought that was funny:)

On Saturday after work I booked it over to the CanadINN Water Park to meet up with Mindy, Gretchen, and my girls for what I thought was Godmother/Goddaughter slumber party weekend. As I was running up to the doors I saw three things - WHITE, MY NIECE KAITLYN'S FACE, and a '30' on the WHITE (which was a banner). In a matter of a second, I realized I had been completely fooled and turned away from the door and started to cry and heard a loud group of people burst into laughter. Nowhere to go, so in I went and saw the people I love the most gathered in front of me with a group of sweet little children that I adore more than I can say holding a "Happy 30th Birthday Jenny" banner. And than very quickly I noticed an even bigger surprise, SAM AND MONICA standing amongst the crowd!!!! WHAT?????? They had come up from Minneapolis to surprise me AND BRYAN, who had no clue they were going to be there until they arrived at the CanadINN! Oh my!!!! It was just all too much and I cried much more like a baby than a 30 year old...surprise surprise:)

Where to begin on my thoughts of all of this????? I'll try and cover it with some thank you's and highlights:

*Debbie, Tami, Laura, and Bryan...you did this in the most perfect way that honored me and what means the most to me - family, friendships, and memories. There is nothing I could have enjoyed more than spending that time with my 'big kid' friends and my 'little' friends. You know what is on my heart and you honor it...I am touched and grateful. Thank you for pushing me out of my birthday 'comfort zone' in a way that would be so special. The time, love, thought, and detail all 4 of you put into this is overwhelming to say the least...words cannot express it...I hope the smile on my face as I enjoyed the evening gave you some indication of how much it meant to me. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH...but maybe Bryan the most...hee hee hee:)

*TAMI, LANCE, BELLA, and AVA...Aloha!!!! We missed you sooooo much at the party but I cannot tell you how much that cake and the message inscribed on it meant to me. You have been a big part of my journey these past few months and you touched me so deeply with a simple birthday message on a cake. It was beautiful and your heart was so evident in it. I love you guys so much and miss you so much! Enough Hawaii...come home:)

*I don't know if there was anything more precious than seeing my daughters, my niece, and the sweet children of my friends holding up that Happy Birthday banner...I can't describe it. I often refer to our 'village' of friends here in GF/EGF and I couldn't speak more highly of it (them) if I tried. We are surrounded by this fantastic group of couples, all of us raising our kids, trying to do the best we can, often questioning everything we're doing, and just loving our kids along the way.

To my friends - your children are so special to me. I am thankful to be a part of their lives and for my children to have them as part of their lives.

*Sam and Mon (and Baby Silver) - thank you for making the long haul up here...what a SURPRISE!!! It was so special to see you and to have you be a part of our life up here that you always here us talking about!

*HIGHLIGHT...Veronica going down the little yellow slide by herself and repeatedly pointing at us from the top saying, "NO Mommy, no" as we would move to the bottom to try and catch her. We would have to sneak in once she started sliding down to help her 'dismount' or soop her up onto her feet if she didn't quite get her footing.

*Isabella eating cake, "Um Mommy...after we finish this can we have some more cause there's LOTS"!!!

*Happy Birthday, eh...did that sound Canadian????? Well it should, cause even Karl was home for the weekend from Winnipeg and got to join the festivities...YEAH:)

*The planning details...after something like this it is always so fun to hear the back story and the planning that goes into it - the funny questions that you never even batted an eye at, Debbie sneakily offering to watch my kids so I could go tanning on Friday (that's when you know someone's one of your best friends - they know you'll be a lot happier in a swimsuit if you've got a tan - I LOVE YOU DEBBIE-Day-ANA:), the covert emails, the time the plan almost got busted but I didn't even realize that. All this stuff is so fun!!! The hilarity of it all!!! I love it!!!

What an awesome time!!!! Than I found out that my kids were sleeping over at G and G's and the 'big kids' were going out!!! Man...I think every detail was covered that could possibly be covered!!! What better way to end my night than with some cheesy pickles at the Toasted Frog...YUMMMY!!!!

To everyone involved in the planning, to everyone who was there...thank you from the bottom of my heart!!! Birthday party or none, there is nothing I love more than a chance to get everyone together and have some fun!!! You are all so very dear to me and I am so thankful for your frienship and love in my life!!! I'm the luckiest 30 year old around!!!

Isabella-isms...

From the mouth of our 4 year old...

*While having dinner one night we talked about Daddy's new haircut and how handsome it looked, to which Isabella replied, "Daddy is so stylish"

*Our little friend Isabel was over to play and Isabella said with great enthusiasm, "Isabel, you TOTALLY ROCK".

*Our friend Timmy stopped by and Isabella said, "Timmy is so awesome"

*Isabella dressed herself for a friend's birthday party - a ballet dress, second ballet skirt on top of it, and Halloween leggings. Debbie told Isabella she looked great and Isabella skipped on by and said, "That's how I do it"!

*Yesterday before I left for work I left Isabella's dance clothes out. When she arrived at dance class she was wearing a different dance outfit. Apparently when she adn Daddy went to get dressed, she picked out the other outfit, telling Bryan, "This is so stylish".

Well...what to make of all of that???? I can only guess what will be coming out of her mouth when she is 13!

The Grande Finale of Veronica's 'My Happy Birthday' celebration:)

Tonight we bid farewell to Veronica's 2nd birthday celebration:) Due to our Disney trip and other events, we finally just had Veronica's 'friend' bday party tonight (her bday was September 30th:).

What a night it was!!!! I just sit down after these events, reflect on it all, and am just so thankful! What incredible friends we have in our lives! We just love having everyone over to celebrate...it is SO FUN!!!

We kept Halloween going tonight with Veronica's Happy Halloween Bday Bash! We love Halloween and it is always SO FUN to see all the little kiddos in their costumes...they are the cutest little kiddos in town!!! Princesses, puppies, skunks, witches, a banana, Tigger, and more...so many CUTE costumes!!!
There was pizza and cake - homemade by Dad this year...way to go Dad!!! We also made mini cake bites in the shapes of pumpkins and ghosts...fun:) You know me...I'm all about the theme!!!
Next came the Halloween Trick or Treat Parade! The parents lined up on the stairs and in the living room and with "This is Halloween" playing in the background, the kids marched up in their costumes collecting candy from parents along the way. Fun! I just love it!
Than it was on to the 'sweets' part of the night with cookie decorating, also some crafts, and a couple of rounds of musical chairs accompanied by a 'Ghostbusters Dance Party':)

So now let's talk about the Birthday Girl - Veronica Grace Elizabeth Hanson!!! I thought it was so funny...Debbie called after the party and commented on how Veronica just had everything going on tonight...she was the cutest kid in town...in Debbie's words, "It all just worked on her tonight":) And I have to say, I agree!:) V chose to wear her Cinderella dress tonight and it was DARLING on her...combine that with a pile of curls up on top of her head and her mischevious, endearing smile and oh boy...that little girl is so cute it's dangerous:) She was a precious birthday princess.
Veronica is a birthday nut! Ever since her Scooby Doo family party back in September, she is always saying things like, "My happy birthday", "My bday cake", "I want my Happy Bday", etc...We made the mistake of telling her earlier in the week that her bday party was this weekend, which led to several Veronica meltdowns/temper tantrums when her bday party and bday cake weren't happening right that second. She loves birthday parties...hers in particular! And Miss V definitely had an extra spring in her step tonight. You could see the excitement in her eyes and the pure joy and happiness she was experiencing as the night wore on! It was so special.
I loved watching her big brown eyes sparkle and her smile get bigger and bigger as we all sang 'Happy Birthday' to her...it was so adorable...I'll remember it always! It means so much to see her enjoy the party and sharing it with all of our special friends!

By the end of the night, her princess curls were a wild mess on top of her head and there was chocolate all over her face. As the last of our friends were leaving, she stood on the steps eating a piece of pizza and said, "Thank you my happy birthday, thank you my Jocie (her buddy that was leaving), bye" and blew a kiss and than waved her sweet little wave. Veronica has the most adorable wave as of late...I think it's the result of our Disney trip and all the waving at characters throughout the park and at parades. She stretches her arm straight up and moves her wrist back and forth so that just her little hand waves...almost like a pageant wave...it is so cute!!!

Than she hammed it up for the camera, posing for me, showing me her grand arabesque, and turning around and tilting her head back so I could see her curls...it was so funny. Than she danced around the entry way saying "Shuuuuuu-ffle step, shuuuuuuuuu-ffle step, shuffle HOP step, shuffle HOP step".
Than she discovered the Little Mermaid ball Wadholm's had gotten her and squealed in delight as she kicked it around the living room like a soccer pro! Life is good when your two!

We love bday parties and we love our friends...combine the two together and we couldn't ask for a better night! What fun! We love watching the kids play and make a mess and just BE KIDS! We love watching the moms and dads all interact and connect and build friendships! It is all just so wonderful!!!!

Happy Birthday Veronica Grace Elizabeth! We are so happy you had so much fun at your party! Thank you for showing us your thanks with that adorable smile and sparkling eyes! Mommy and Daddy felt the excitement right along with you!!! We LOVE YOU BABY GIRL...oops, I mean big girl:)

Angel Taylor's Halloween

Taylor Vossekuil was 15 when she passed away from ALL leukemia in November 2007. It was a brief and courageous battle - she had been diagnosed in the spring and was taken into God's heavenly arms in the fall.

Taylor loved Halloween and last year at Halloween I remember hearing about "Taylor's Pumpkin Crusade". People from the community rallied to fill Taylor's front yard with pumpkins and it was a rousing success. I followed all of this very little as I was a bit preoccupied with our visitors from the African Children's Choir and with helping with a benefit for a dance student of mine who was battling brain tumor. But Taylor Vossekuil, the name stuck in my head.

One sleepless night in February found me browsing the internet and searching for a Caringbridge site for Taylor. I found it and was shocked to find she had passed away...in the fall I had not realized how sick she was. I stayed up, reading Taylor's journal from beginning to end, crying at times uncontrollably, and at times with a smile of pure joy. What a journey Taylor and her family traveled and I am thankful they shared it so honestly in their Caringbridge journal. Since February, I've checked on Taylor's site to see how the family is doing. An entry this past week by Taylor's mom, Ann, talked about how it has been nearly a year since Taylor passed away and how the pumpkin crusade was going on a year ago at this time. I felt an uncontrollable call on my heart to spend the next month in deep prayer for Ann, but also for...pumpkins:) I just couldn't get it out of my head! And so I decided to talk with Isabella about the situation, honestly.

I told Isabella that there was a Mommy named Ann with 4 daughters. One of her daughters, Taylor, had a really bad sick, a sick that was so bad that it just couldn't get better here on Earth. So God took her up to Heaven to make it all better and Taylor is healthy now and can run and play and be an angel watching over us. But sometimes Taylor's mom, Ann misses her a bit, and pumpkins help her to feel happy because Taylor loved Halloween and pumpkins so much. I suggested to Isabella that we should decorate some pumpkins and bring them to Ann. Isabella said, "That would be good and we could put angels on them and write on them, 'Thank you God for taking away her sick'". Man, I love that little girl sooooooooooooo much. I love that we could share that moment together, I love that she got it. And that day that all our friends came over, she kept coming up to me and saying, "Tell them the story Mom, tell them the story about the girl and her mommy". Isabella - you are so special...more special than you will every know and I love you so very much! I cherish those moments with you and keep them in a special place in my heart that is for just you and me.

So with the help of many of our little friends and their moms on Tuesday, our village of friends decorated some pumpkins to deliver to Taylor's yard on Halloween. Pumpkins with glitter on them, pumpkins with Superman stickers on them, pumpkins with mainly dried glue on them and a sticker or glitter spot here or there...they were the most beautiful pumpkins I ever saw!

Tonight, the four of us delivered the pumpkins to Ann Vossekuil's yard. Isabella rang the doorbell and the door was opened and they were prepared to give us candy. But we explained why we were there and the smile on Ann's face was priceless! "You just made my night", she said! Isabella distributed the pumpkins throughout the yard, Bryan and Veronica watched, and I got to share a hug and hand squeeze from one mom to another and see the light of Taylor's spirit shining through her mother's eyes.

It was a good night...a very good night. I continue to feel compelled that our family's call from God is to serve and I love sharing this with the girls and our friends. We receive so much from it and Isabella at such a young age seems to understand quite a bit about giving to others (in a variety of ways). I have a feeling that the Vossekuil family will become a special part of our Halloween celebration from here on out!

Thanks be to God for healing Taylor with his personal, loving embrace. Please continue to keep the Vossekuil family in your prayers as they approach the one year anniversary of Taylor's passing in November. They have been so couragous and strong in sharing their story...it has been so inspiring. It would mean so much if you would lift them up in prayer!!!

Halloween...the Hanson Family Way:)

Halloween...I love it so!!! And this year our Halloween Day took us on different journeys that made the whole day so special and causes me to pray many prayers of thanks for the blessings and people in our life! I'll break down the highlights:)

*Visit to Grandma Grace's office...this is always a Halloween hightlight! Grandma's 'work friends', as Isabella calls them, are always SO KIND to the girls. Grandma works with a wonderful group of people, including John Schmisek who pulled out a dollar bill for each girl because he didn't have any candy to offer, which was not necessary...however, he endeared himself to Veronica, the money lover, forever:) Thanks Grandma's work friends...you are always so incredibly thoughtful and sweet!

*A special visit to dance class...I had one class to teach late this afternoon and decided to bring the girls with me. It is the same level Isabella attends, just on a different day....I knew she would be fine...but Veronica...hmmm...how would this go. My hope was that I would put her out there and she would just follow along, motivated by being with the big girls. And you know what....SHE DID:) So there stood my two brown-eyed girls side by side tapping their toes to the counting song and 'Ghostbusters' and doing grand jetes' over pumpkins, and playing the Bear Hunt. It was really really really wonderful!!! How fun for us all to share an actual dance class together.

*We attended 'Funanza', Isabella's school carnival and had a fantastic time playing games, jumping in the inflatables and eating yummy treats!

*Trick or treating - Daddy/daughter time:) SPECIAL:) After leaving Funanza, we headed to Grandma and Papa's, but Isabella and Daddy had something to attend to once we arrived...some real good ole fashioned trick or treating!!! Isabella has never done trick or treating outside door to door:) This was something just for them...it was sweet. I did tag along for about 3 houses to take a couple of pictures and just get a glimpse of her reactions. It was sweet, she remembered her 'trick or treats' and 'thank you's' all on her own and Daddy even convinced me to stand back and watch as she went up to one house all on her own. It was sweet...her eyes were sparkling with excitement as treat upon treat was dropped into her bag!!! It was a whole new world for her - one I think she and Daddy will probably share as a special tradition of their own. There's nothing that melts my heart more than a Daddy/daughter moment...it's the best!!!

*"Miss Halloween, miss Halloween, hi Gamma, hi Papa, hi Daddy"...oh Veronica! Could there possibly be a cuter kid on earth??? At times, such as tonight, I think not:) We had been at G and G's for a little bit when Veronica began galloping around and around in a circle in the living room saying something over and over that we couldn't quite get. We started to make out something and than the word 'Halloween'...than realized it was 'Miss Halloween' and she was singing it in a rhythm. Around and around she galloped for probably about 5 minutes straight saying this, when I finally got it!!! "This is Halloween, this is Halloween" I sang...the chorus of a song I had used for our Halloween parade in dance class...Veronica had seen it 3 times this week, including earlier today! Her intepretation came out as "Miss Halloween, miss Halloween". Veronica than realized how much we were enjoying watching her do this and she would throw out "Hi Daddy", "Hi Papa", "Hi Gamma" with a wave worthy of Sarah Palin in between her 'Miss Halloween'. We just sat and watched her do this for the longest time. I kept waiting for her to run out of gas and just fall over, but on and on she went. It was adorably cute, goes down in the history books as one of the cutest moments EVER...in all of history...and I'm not being dramatic (ha ha ha:)!!!:)

*Grandma's goodie bags...each year when Gamma gives the girls their Halloween bags, I joke that I didn't know that it was xmas or birthday time. But after 4 years, I've finally given up and am just going to be thankful. With the goodies come that one super duper special reaction that just melts the heart. Grandma gave V a stuffed Donald Duck from DW in her bag and oh man, how she loved that Donald Duck and hugged it and smiled at it and loved it up..."My Donald Duck"...she loved it so much.
And Isabella just has cute, so sincere moments! Her delighted expression of "Oh cute" when she saw the Mickey Mouse hair barrettes from DW and I think she and I were equally excited about the soccer coach Barbie Doll!!! We'd both looked longingly at that Barbie in the toy aisle together:) Now we can play with it together...if she'll share it:)

*Costumes...oh how I love them!!! Last year, I wanted Isabella to be Batgirl so bad...I knew she would be the perfect Batgirl. But she preferred Dorothy and I respected her wishes. But this year she was into the Batgirl idea and she was the perfect Batgirl!!! I put her hair in a side ponytail and crimped it and it was great!!! When we got her to wear the mask and the boots and gloves, it was priceless!
And my Snow White...oh Veronica! I think it was this summer that I had the vision of my V as the perfect little Snow White and she did not disappoint! From Disney World, to Halloween Day at dance class, to Grandma's office, to tonight...I couldn't get enough of her in that Snow White dress! And though her little bob of curls that I tediously produced from convincing her to let me put curlers in her hair would only last about 10 minutes before it gave way to a wild mess of hair...oh it was PRECIOUS!!!
I may have missed the mark on some major parenting issues, but gosh darn it, I nailed it on the Halloween costume front this year...ha ha ha:)

*And for a super special memory from tonight, I hope you'll read our entry titled, "Angel Taylor's Halloween"!

Happy Halloween everyone...kiss your sweet little trick or treaters and love them through all the peaks and valleys you travel on this unforgettable parenting journey! We are so blessed to be parents!!!

Happy Halloween...Mickey Style!!!

Thursday night, with great excitement, we were off to "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party". This is a special event at Disney, with a limited number of tickets sold. All of the rides are running, but the wait time is a lot less since there is less people in the park. But best of all, there are all kinds of fun activities/features happening at the park...it is AWESOME!!!

We headed to park in costume, full of the Halloween spirit. The girls, in full princess spirit, opted to wear their special dresses from Grandma. I was 'Momma Snow White' thanks to the incredible generosity of my Debbie-day-ana (smile) who kindly lent me her costume. Daddy was a Ghostbuster and Grandma was a nun!!! Everyone is pretty much in costume and it is so fun to see!!! There was a family where the parents and their four children were Dalmation dogs and their Grandma was Cruella Deville!!!
The ticket taker told Grandma, "Have a good night, sister" and Daddy was a hit in his Ghostbuster costume! People kept asking him which one he was, if he was on his way to the Haunted Mansion to take care of some business, etc...it was great! And of course, our princesses got many adoring looks and comments!

We had a blast at the special Halloween dance parties. We totally fell upon the first one on our way to Fantasyland...we passed a restaurant and there was Lilo and Stitch dancing on stage! Holy Cow!!!! We dashed in and I don't think I'll ever forget the excitement that spread across Isabella's face when she saw Stitch!!! Lilo and Stitch is one of our favorite cartoons on snuggle mornings!!! We did the chicken dance and the YMCA and got a big wave and kiss blown to us from Lilo! Veronica, also a fan, was entranced and danced in Grandma's arms. She got some very special up close waves from Lilo...it was sooooo COOL!!! Daddy captured it all on video camera and it was so fun to watch!!!
Than as we came into Fantasyland we fell upon a second dance party with Chip and Dale!!! But this time, Chip and Dale weren't on a stage, they were on the dance floor and you were right there with them!!! I took Isabella out there and she stayed and danced rather stiffly, she was a bit in awe and overwhelmed being right out there with them. It was so cute:) She did the cha cha slide with them, but she seemed more interested in seeing if there was another kid her age who would dance with her. She kept asking different little girls to dance with her, but they were more interested in dancing with Chip and Dale. Veronica went with Grandma to do some trick or treating...being that close to a 'head' character (as opposed to a 'face' character like the princesses) was still a bit too much for her:)

Time for a parade!!! And what a parade the Halloween one is!!! Fantastic! Mickey, Minnie, and the gang are all in Halloween costumes...it is SO CUTE!!! The parade features a lot of the Disney 'villians' - like Captain Hook, Ursula, the wicked queens, it's super cute!!! We had a front row seat and enjoyed sitting next to a family with kids our age. Their 6 year old daughter and Isabella chatted up a storm while waiting for the parade to start...it was VERY CUTE to listen too!!! Isabella was turning up the full charm as she made a new friend, including being adorably cute to her baby sister..."Oh here little sisty, have a candy while you wait".
The parade was fantastic!!! Veronica sat right up front with Daddy, waved immediately when she saw Donald Duck (our first indication that she is starting to warm up to the 'head' characters), and seemed to be having a great time. Than of course it had to happen...really it's hilarious when it's all said and done. There were four of the evil hyenas (did Ieven spell that anywhere near right?) from the Lion King (of course in costume) and they would prowl up on the sidelines and randomly growl at people. And who were some of those lucky people - Daddy and V of course!!!! Ahhhhh man!:) Veronica flipped out and spent the rest of the parade in my arms:) But the parade was wonderful, full of Halloween spirit, and so much creativity!!!

Now a ride report...new rides we tried that night -
*The Buzz Lightyear ride...fun and Veronica seemed to particularly enjoy it
*Stitch's Great Escape - oh boy, don't know if we quite knew what we were getting into. This is more of an 'experience' than a ride. You're strapped into a chair with a lot of effects going on around you, like the sensation that Stitch is ruffling your hair, water spraying at you, the feeling of Stitch jumping on your chair, and the scent of him burping in your face. Lots of darkness and noise effects. Isabella was skiddish from the start...she had overheard someone say it was scary right before we went in. But we reminded her it was pretend and went for it. She was a bit freaked out throughout it, but true to 'Isabella form' the second we got out, she went running to Grandma telling her all about and begging to go on it again, reminding Grandma it's all just pretend:)
*Thunder Mountain - Daddy and Isabella went on this. Bry said Isabella got freaked out right before they got on the train car, almost didn't go on, but once again, LOVED IT and came bouncing off pleading to go again. So off she and I went, with my sweet girl telling me, "It's not scary Mom, just fun, ok?". And fun it was! Isabella giggled and shrieked throughout the coaster ride that involves no huge drops, but has a lot of speed and curves and twists, and is especially cool to ride at night, since you come out of the mountain and are outside during some of it! Hands down...my favorite ride!!!!

The night started winding down with a fantastic fireworks show! Fireworks are going off all around you...it's spectacular...but very loud:) It was getting close to 10, and Veronica was tired and not digging the noise. Isabella was pretty enthralled with everything during that point and beamed like a ray of sunshine at the fireworks going off around her.
We were heading out right after the fireworks, when a tired and delerious Veronica exclaimed, "Horsey, horsey" as we passed Cinderella's carousel and proceeded to perk up considerably. So Grandma, Daddy, and the girls boarded the carousel.
And to make a long story short...next came what Bryan calls my 'Sarah Palin Crazy Hockey Mom' moment. Let's just say that I was tipped off that Cinderella and Prince Charming were doing a character appearance in Toon Town and that the line probably wouldn't be very long since the second parade was going on. This led to me tearing through the park to get us a spot in line while the rest of my family trailed behind (I encouraged them to walk since I was running:), only to be told by the attendant that Cinderella and Prince Charming would be leaving in 5 minutes to be replaced by Aurora and Prince Phillip. What???? We'd already met Aurora that morning, I wanted a picture of Cinderella and Isabella wearing her Cinderella dress. But I had two tired kids, a tired Grandma, and a husband who was less than impressed with my crazy running through the park, and while the line was not too long, there was no way we were goign to get to her before she left. So we told Isabella that Cinderella was going to have to leave and asked her if she wanted to just go home or did she want to see Aurora and Prince Phillip. In a very calm, sleepy voice, Isabella said, "That's fine, I will just meet them". So sweet, so cute. I pointed out to her again, because I think she missed it, that she was going to get to meet a Prince! Isabella had asked me before the trip if any of the prince's would be there and I'd told her I didn't know...well, here we were about to meet a prince! When Isabella realized that she got EXCITED! But the second it was her turn, she turned into the very shy, demure little girl that had been at the princess breakfeast...it's so darn cute:)
So I walked her up to Aurora and Prince Phillip, and said, "We had such a wonderful time meeting you at breakfeast this morning, Aurora". And here is what I LOVE ABOUT DISNEY...all of their people are so on their game. Aurora and Phillip immediately picked up on my cue, Aurora responding, "Yes, so did I" and Phillip getting down on his knee at Isabella's level and saying, "And what is your name?" (Aurora couldn't ask - she'd already met Isabella that morning, nod nod wink wink:). "Isabella" my sweet daughter said, and Phillip looked up at Aurora and said, "Oh yes, this is the little girl you were telling me about"! Isabella beamed and I just could have cried, all of this little things, these little details, considerations, they mean so much to me as a Mom, watching my child experience the 'magic' of Disney.

With that, it was time to head home:) By the time we were on Main Street USA (the entryway of the park), Isabella and Veronica were both sleeping peacefully in their strollers - our own Sleeping Beauties. What a great night! It was such an awesome experience!!!

A Whale of a Time...SEA WORLD!!!

On Wednesday (GRANDMA'S BIRTHDAY!!!) we headed for some fun and adventure at Sea World. After our first day at DW, Sea World was a good choice...crowds are a bit less intense and there is less of a wait for the rides/shows Sea World offers!

Our first visit was to the Sting Ray exhibit where we all petted the sting rays swimming by (with two fingers along the back:)...even Grandma petted one! Some of the sting rays got a little fiesty and would splash as they swam by...this was funny! Than Daddy got some food to feed the sting rays...this was an adventure! He had to hold the fish in between his pointer and middle finger and reach that hand all the way into the bottom of the pool. A sting ray's mouth is on the bottom of it's body so that is way he had to reach his hand all the way down and let the sting rays swim over top to get the food! We were swarmed with Sting Rays wanting food...it was FUN!!!

Than we went to feed dolphins and pet them!!!! WOW...fun!!! We each had a tray of little fish to drop in for the dolphins and were able to pet their heads!

Off to the dolphin show we went and WOW...it was UNBELIEVABLE! When Bry and I were at Sea World 10 years ago the dolphin show was more education based and showed of their skills...now it's this huge show involving several human performers doing acrobatics, diving, and water tricks with the dolphins and birds flying in randomly throughout the arena...one flew right over G'ma and mine's head...we were pretty surprised!! THIS SHOW WAS FANTASTIC!!! WOW!!! I think my mouth was wide open the whole time and my head moving all over the place trying to catch everything! It was beautiful!!!! Bryan and Isabella sat down in the soak zone while V, G'ma, and I sat a little farther up! Isabella enjoyed the little splashes she got when the dolphins jumped close by her. Veronica sat transfixed by the show eating one Dorito after another:)

Than it was the big SHAMU show...BELIEVE!!! Again, a hit!!! Again, Daddy and Isabella in the soak zone(very close this time) and V, G'ma, and I up top. Daddy and Isabella got SOAKED by the many big splashes Shamu and friends made with their big tails!!! She loved it and proudly showed us how soaked she was after the show! The whole theme behind the show is to believe in your dreams and to work hard for them. There is video of young children telling their different dreams and one of them was to be a dolphin trainer. Not surprisingly this prompted Isabella to turn to Daddy and ask, "Can I be a dolphin trainer when I grow up?":) Daddy said it was one of his favorite memories because he told her of course she could be and they than had one of those father/daughter talks about following your dreams and that you might have to work hard to achieve them, but to never give up....ahhhh Daddy:)

As for Veronica, she was in love with both the dolphin and whale shows. She sat completely still on the bench, except for the movement of her hand bringing endless doritos to her mouth (side note...snacks are an essential during the DW experience...fill your backpack with many so you don't have to drop a huge chunk of change on park snacks:). Any time the whales or dolphins would disappear and the 'humans' would take over to give them a break, Veronica would strain her neck looking all around and asking in earnest, "Where Whale?", "Where Dolphin?"...she loved watching them jump and splash and do their tricks!!! It is fun wathing her so young and little on this vacation finding the things she enjoys!!!!

We of course had to stop by the Clydsdale horse (Anheiser Busch owns Sea World or something like that) to take a family picture...Bry said he needed a before and after:) Back in March of 1999 we visited Sea World on spring break together (our first vacay together:) and he took a picture in front of this horse by himself (the before:)...now it was time for the after, complete with the wife and kiddos:) CUTE...Daddy's so funny:)

Than it was finally time for Isabella to ride the rollar coaster she been waiting so patiently for...Journey to Atlantis! Bry and I rode this ride on our vacay in '99 and have a hilarious pic of him laughing on it and me gritting my teeth with all my might while we down the biggest drop. So off we went, holding hands and boarded our coaster car...Bry and Isabella up front together, I behind them. We traveled through the various tunnels with different visual effects and decors depicting the world of Atlantis and than finally made our way up up up and outside to the big splash!!! In the immediate seconds afterwards, Isabella didn't want to go on it again, she was scared - not of the coaster part, but of some of the visual effects). But once we were actually off and she saw G'ma and V, Isabella went running over telling them all about it and wanted to go on again. So off the three of us went AGAIN:) We determined what seemed to have scared her most inside the tunnel and covered her eyes during it...problem solved:) G'ma and V saw us come down the big splash and Isabella determined that she wanted to go on it...AGAIN:) I took her on it again, Daddy went to go ride the super huge Kracken rollar coaster, and G'ma and V headed for Shamu's Happy Harbor play area. What a tremendous help G'ma was in moments like this...we both got to go on the coaster with Isabella, G'ma would entertain V with snacks or a more toddler friendly attraction...thank you G'ma!!!!!
As Isabella and I went to ride the Journey to Atlantis one last time, she gleefully called out to the attendant, "We're just going one more time, ok?" and we skipped on through. And I'll tell you a secret...I finally opened my eyes on the big drop the third time around:)
Isabella and I headed off to meet G'ma and V at Shamu's Happy Harbor and wow...we had thought our day would be coming to an end, but we'd just found a whole new set of adventures at this little kids amusement park (very similar to the park at the MOA). G'ma and V had already ridden the carousel, which has fish instead of horses and V's smile stretched from ear to ear! We headed to the Jammin Jellyfish ride, which is basically spinning tea cups that go up in the air. We did not realize that they went so high up in the air or that they spun around so fast...G'ma held her own very well while riding with V and I in their own car..."Don't look down" I yelled out:)

After that, Daddy joined up with us, a little quesy from his experience on the Kracken, but ready to ride a little spinning boat ride with the girls. It was in this moment that we witnessed Veronica become a full fledged ride nut like her sister. Daddy, Isabella, and Veronica loaded into their row with G'ma and I watching. There was V, smiling from ear to ear, giggling, calling out in her cute little baby voice, "G'ma...hi G'ma, hi G'ma" and waving joyfully, showing off for all of us:) Than the ride started and all you could hear was an endless stream of streaks and giggles and all you could see was this gigantic smile on a sweet little baby face.
V and I than headed to some spinning cups that stayed on the ground and didn't go quite so fast and it was evident that she was now 'beyond' those rides. So we headed off for the big test...the frog hopper!!! Oh boy. I was a little nervous, I would be right next to her, but we were strapped in flying up and down in the air and I wouldn't be able to just grab her if she got scared. But oh she giggled as we sat in the seat waiting, smiling away. The safety restraints lowered, and up we went! As we went up, V managed to catch sight of G'ma coming over to watch her..."G'ma, hi G'ma, looka me, hi G'ma"...hilarious! The more we bounced and the higher we jumped and the more she giggled and giggled and giggled!!!! Daddy and Isabella came over from the Shamu kid coaster right as she finished and decided to ride the frog hopper with Veronica again. This time I got to watch. Veronica looked SO LITTLE in those seats, so tiny. What a memory to watch our little baby, the one who's a bit timid, a bit weary of new experiences, takes time to warm up to things become a full fledged ride nut like her sister. I know she'll be on the big girl rides with her 'big sisty' as soon as her height allows!!!

Two special notes from the day...when Daddy arrived at Shamu Harbor, he had a surprise for Isabella. Daddy had gone and gotten a hilarious pic of the three of us on the Atlantis Coaster...Dad's hands are up in the air and he is smiling wildly. Isabella and I both have these very strained looks on our faces...it's hilarious!!! He'd had the pic put in a water globe for Isabella to have in her room, so she could remember our day together. This is kind of our 'thing' as a family. When we let the girls get things on adventures such as this or at the zoo for example, we tell them that we hope they will always remember our special day when they look at that thing. Throughout the rest of the day and the rest of the trip, Isabella would ask to see her water globe and would say things like, "I just love this so much" or "Why did Daddy get this for me again?" (she likes to hear the story about it capturing a special memory). She would just carry it around looking at it for the longest time.
Our second special note from the Sea World day is "SISTER BONDING"...wow!!! This was SO NEAT to watch!!! Isabella was really excited about Veronica being able to go on so many rides with her and she would always want to sit by Veronica. The older Veronica gets, the more they can do together and you can really see their bond growing through it...it is AWESOME!!! "Come sit by your big sisty, Veronica"!!!! Isabella was very proud of her little sis tackling some 'big girl' rides:)
What a day!!!! "Hi G'ma, hi G'ma"...I don't think I'll ever forget Veronica gleefully calling this out to Grandma from each ride showing off what a big girl she was!!!! FUN FUN FUN!!!