Love to play

Today I took the day off volunteering and took the girls to the Sanford Mall. We met up with my friend Jake and her daughter Kendrah. The girls had a great time running around the play area at the mall. Afterwards we all walked the mall and had lunch in the food court. Jake and her husband Kent are coming over on Sunday so we will get to see them again real soon. Next time we get the girls together we are going to go to some bounce place that Jake takes Kendrah sometime. I have never taken my girls there but I think they would really love it based on what Jake has told me. This picture isn't that great but for whatever reason it is the only one I took.

Beginning to look a bit like Christmas..

I've begun building a guitar for my friend Chris. I made one for him three years ago and he's decided he wants a backup with a few extras. He settled on this one being black with green pickups and I instantly suggested to him, "hey man, we should put green LEDs in the neck." For whatever reason he thought this was a good idea (which of course I did too) and I began putting my money where my mouth is. Yesterday the work paid off. There are a few pictures as well on my guitar site blog (chellee.com) where I will continue to chronicle the construction of this instrument.

What happened to my little girl?

My Mr. Fixit

I had to throw my volunteer uniform in the wash today so I could wear it again tomorrow. Peter had done a wash earlier in the day and everything seemed fine but this time we weren't so lucky. When it was time for the washer to spin and drain water it just stopped completely. I went out to check on it and played with all the knobs and buttons trying to get it do something but to no avail it was broken. I called out to Peter and said "it's broken, it won't do anything (add irritated whine here)" Peter says "oh, okay (perhaps with slightly more colorful vocabulary)" and he set to work trying to fix it. In just a couple minutes he had the thing completely apart with the wet clothes still in it and after a couple minutes more he found the problem; a broken lid switch housing. We didn't have the appropriate adhesive to fix it but with a little electrical tape he got it to work well enough until he can bring home what he needs from his shop to fix it properly. In a few more seconds he had the washer back together and we heard the sweet sound of water draining from the machine. My wonderful Mr. Fixit, he solves all my problems. I am so proud to be his wife.

Festival for Sanford's Plane Crash Victims

Yesterday Sanford held a festival to raise money for the families of the tragedy last month. Since I volunteer at the Police Department they asked me to help out for the event. We had a pretty good turn out, I am not sure how many people they were expecting. There were lots of families that came throughout the day and the kids seemed to really have a fun time on the air bouncers and slides. The festival was suppose to go from 10-9 but we had a huge lightning storm come our way around 7. After the first few loud thunders sounded the venders started breaking down and packing up. I was there from 8:30-7:30, I had planned on staying to the end but after people started packing up there wasn't anything else for me to do. I got really sunburned and I am really sore from it today but in a couple days I will be as good as new. I don't know how much money was earned but hopefully it will be enough to cover most of the medical and funeral costs. Thanks for everyone who either donated or spread the word!

The best pictures are the ones they don't know you take...

Yay Abbi!!!

I am very proud to say that our little girl Abigail is completely potty trained after only 3 days!! What a big girl. It definitely helps having a big sister that she wants to be just like. She had no problem with the concept right from the beginning. There were a few accidents the first day, as is completely expected, and then a bit fewer the following day. Today and yesterday she stayed "nice and dry" all day long and she even tells us when she has to go. We still ask every now and then but she always gives us an honest answer and hasn't had any problems at all. So far she wears a diaper to bed but she doesn't want to. A couple of nights she woke up dry but we still want to be safe. She does take her nap without a diaper and so far we haven't had a single wet day yet. I am so proud of my littlest girl!! Also I am so happy to be done with potty training, I really wasn't looking forward to it.

Doctor Appointment

Before Brye went to school today she had to go to the Dr. for her four year checkup. When we first went in they pricked her finger for the Hemoglobin test and Brye got really upset at the nurse after that. When the doctor came in Brye told her about the nurse but did just as she was told for the doctor. Peter had read her a book about Pooh going to the doctor while we waited so Brye knew just what to do. She let the Dr. check her mouth, eyes, and ears and her back and belly too. Brye liked the rubber hammer that made her kick her leg. At the end of the appointment the nurse came back in and gave Brye four shots. Poor girl, but now she won't have to get anymore shots until she is 11 years old (unless they change something). Brye finally made it to the growth curve. She is in the 5th percent for both her height and weight, which is better than last year when she was under the curve completely. She weighs 29 pounds and is 37" tall.

A start down a long road...

Today was Brye's first day of school. Peter and I took her this morning and she jumped right in with the other kids and couldn't have cared less if we were there or not. There were some other kids who were clinging to their mothers because they didn't want them to go but that was not the case for Brye at all. Peter was the only Daddy there which I was surprised at. He has a pretty flexible schedule though so the other dads were probably working. Brye goes to school Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week. This Wednesday we have a doctors appointment so we will have to take her later than usual. When I picked up Brye from school today she said they played too much and she liked eating lunch. There was a paper on the wall where the teacher wrote a question and the answers that the kids gave. Brye answered the question so her quote was up there, she was proud of the fact that she got to raise her hand. We had been talking about that all last week.

One Last Day

Today was our last day of fun before school starts. Tomorrow will be Brye's first day of preschool. She is so big! My Dad and Judy went out of town so they let us borrow their truck while they are gone. We had to go pick it up today so we decided to go swimming while we were over there. Peter's shop was closed for the day so he came swimming too. We all had a great time and the water was perfect for the hot hot temp-
eratures we are having lately. After swimming the girls and I met my mom at the Sanford mall to find Brye a dress to wear for tomorrow. There were lots of cute clothes and Brye will be the prettiest girl in class! We walked the rest of the mall and ended up going into the Disney store. Mom got a job at Disney World doing pest control and so she gets a great discount.Mom put a beautiful princess dress on Abbi and she was so cute that my Mom just had to buy it. Abbi wore the dress for the rest of the day and not a person passed us that didn't comment on how pretty Abbi was. Thanks Grandma, we had a great time at the mall and Brye will be so pretty tomorrow!!

Our new pet

It seems we have adopted a new pet, or rather it has adopted us. About two weeks ago I saw a frog outside by the pond just sitting on one of the bricks. Later in the day I didn't see him so I figured he went on his way. Well the next morning he was there again and everyday after that he was just sitting there. A couple days ago I looked out and I guess he got hot because he was sitting on one of the lily pads in the pond. Today I saw him just floating around. I guess he likes our fish so he is here to stay. He isn't big enough to eat any of the fish we have so I am not worried about that, I am thinking maybe it is a female frog and is going to lay her eggs in the pond. I haven't seen any tadpoles yet but we will see. There have been a few times in the past when I have had to help a frog here and there to get out of the pond but none of them ever stuck around after I helped them escape.

Oscar's clean

When you get your oil changed at Jiffy Lube they give you a coupon for a free car wash. Brye loves going through the car washes that have the spinners that clean the sides of the car. She doesn't like the touchless car washes though. She is always asking me if we can get Oscar washed and go through the "tunnel." The only time I ever take him to be washed is when we have a free coupon, otherwise I just wash him myself. Well today after an oil change I asked Brye if she wanted to go. Of course she said "yes" with much enthusiasm and so we were off. Abbi gets excited too but when it starts she thinks it is too loud.

Slip'n Slide

I wanted to take the girls to go swimming today but Peter wanted to leave early and I was too tired so instead I set up the slip'n slide that Grandma got us. The girls got all ready with their suits and sunscreen and then they had a blast playing in the water. They took some of their cups and bowls out of the play house and brought them over to fill them up and dump them out. It was so hot out there but they didn't mind with the water going. I stayed just inside the back door reading so that I could keep an eye on them but not get overheated. They played for about an hour and then Abbi was ready to come in. The girls cleaned up all their toys while I took care of the slip'n slide. We all ate lunch and then it was time for a nap. The girls played so hard they both went right to sleep.

Princesses

For Abbi's birthday my sister got her a kit to decorate crowns as one of her presents. Brye has been obsessed with this kit since Abbi opened it and has asked me everyday if they could decorate the crowns. Finally today I said okay and they set to work making them so pretty. There were three crowns in the kit so Abbi did two (since it was hers) and Brye did one. This morning when I was getting the girls dressed Brye said she wanted to be a ballerina so I got the girls out their ballet suits so they could be pretty once they decorated their crowns. They had a blast doing all the decorating and then once the crowns were dry they wore them all around the house. They didn't want to take them off but I didn't think it was a good idea to take a nap with them on.

Tropical

When we went to pick the girls up from Grandma's house yesterday my mom gave us a pineapple that she grew in her yard. Turns out she had grown so many she couldn't eat them all, we don't mind. Brye loves the way it smells and is excited to have some for dessert tonight after dinner. Thanks Grandma!!




Yesterday I got so caught up in writing about our weekend I forgot to send a Happy Birthday wish to my sister-in-law, Heather!! Sorry Heather, it was great talking to you yesterday, we'll talk again soon!!

Sunday

The last day of our away weekend and we had another park to visit. We checked out of the Marriot and drove over to Disney. After getting to the Magic Kingdom we met my friend, Dave, at the gate where he gave us tickets and we talked for a while. After finding some waymarks (a geocaching thing) we went off to play. The park was really crowded and we didn't have fast passes today so we had to wait in line (I know we are so deprived). We had a great time going on Pirates and Thunder Mountian and then seeing the Monster show in Tomorrowland. After we had enough of that we went over to MGM Studios (someone told me they were changing the name) where we rode the Rock'n Roller Coaster, Star Tours, and the Tower of Terror. The Roller coaster was our favorite of course and the line wasn't that bad. We were going to ride on it again but we came back around the wait was 70 minutes so we changed our minds. We will have to come back again when it is not so crowded and the weather isn't so terribly hot. After we left the parks we went home and got cleaned up and then went to dinner. The girls are at my mom's house and we have to go pick them up. We had a great weekend and celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on Sunday.

Saturday

Saturday morning we got up and packed our things. There was only one night available at the discounted rate that Janell got us so we had to go to a different hotel for Saturday night. We got all ready and after picking up tickets that Janell left for us we went we Universal Studios. Because we had stayed in one of Universals hotels we could use our room key and get in the front of all the lines, just like their express pass that they sell in addition to the tickets. This was absolutely great because with the heat index it was suppose to be about 104 degrees outside and we didn't want to be standing in line all day. We started at Islands of Adventure and went on each ride we wanted to go on once. There was no wait for us but for other people there were lines up to 90 minutes long. We also saw a show before heading over to Universal Stuidos where we went on a couple more rides. We left the parks around 5 and went to check in at the Marriot by Downtown Disney. It was a nice clean hotel but after staying in the Portifino it was like a cheap motel. LOL We got all cleaned up and dressed and then went to dinner at Wolfgang Puck, it was really good. I had sushi and Peter had fettuccine. We finished eating just in time to be seated at Cirque Du Soliel. Peter and I had wanted to go see this show for a long time but hadn't because of the prices. Finally we decided to do it and it was worth every penny. Once again we got really great seats, we were in the 3rd row from the stage and you could see the expressions on all the actors faces. Everything was so amazing!! I was actually really sad when the show was over, I wanted it to go on all night. If you haven't seen the show I highly recommend going, it is well worth the money. After the show we returned to our hotel, we were both really exhausted. The pictures are of the Portifino by night and by day, and then a shot of Peter and I in our seats at Cirque Du Soliel (we got yelled at for taking a picture so I couldn't take a better one like I had planned).

Friday

Friday began Peter and I's weekend away. He still worked at the shop during the day but that night we had tickets to go see Blue Man Group. I had bought the tickets for him as a surprised but after many (many) unsuccessful guesses he finally guessed correctly when we passed a huge billboard with Blue Man on it off I-4. I can't lie so I had to tell him he was right and though he ruined the surprise he was still excited. I took the girls over to Miss Kim's house where they spent the night on Friday and then I went and ran some errands and then checked into the Portifino Bay Resort at Universal Studios. My sister works there so she got us a great deal on a beautiful room. Thanks Janell!! After getting Peter from work we drove back down to Universal and dropped off our things in our room and then took the boat over to CityWalk. I had gotten Peter and I really great seats, we were in the "poncho area" because we were so close to the stage that they made us wear ponchos in case we got splashed with paint and such. We didn't get splashed but one of the Blue Men threw me a marshmallow, that was exciting because he only through them out to a couple people, also we got completely covered in streamers and paper that they pulled out of huge rolls. Then the guy sitting next to me got called up on stage and they played his ears (you have to see the show to understand). Also one of the Blue Men came over and danced with us. It was a really great show and really funny. Afterwards we got to take our picture with a couple of the guys and talked to band. We were already exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel, we ordered room service and tried to rest for the rest of the weekend.

Thursday night

There was a movie in the park in Winter Park again. They played an old Marx Brothers film and it was actually pretty funny. I really didn't have high expectations but I was surprised that it was better than I thought it would be. We met up with Angella and her brother and his kids while Michael had a shoot to do at the Orena. Also my friend Greig joined us for the first time. We had fun just hanging out and watching the movie. The girls feel asleep on the way home. The pictures are of Peter with the girls in our chair and then one of the girls climbing all over Angella, she is such a good sport.

Water days

This morning the girls and I went swimming again. We always have a great time and the water felt better today than ever before. The heat really gets to you but as soon as you get in the water you feel so much better. We all swam for a good two hours before we got out for lunch. Brye floated around and then had fun jumping off the steps with her innertube into the shallow end. She would then turn around and kick her feet until she got back to the steps. Abbi had fun floating around and then playing on the steps. Later she did her jumping from the edge into my arms like she does. My Dad took some pictures while we were out. They both fell asleep on the way home, all that swimming really wore them out. Tonight we are going to a movie in the park so it's good that they got a good nap in. Tomorrow the girls are staying at Miss Kim's again and then the following night they are going to my mom's. Peter and I are celebrating our 7 year anniversary so we are going out of town for the weekend. We have lots of things planned and we will be busy. I probably won't post anything until Monday, I am not sure if I will get a chance tomorrow. When I do post again I will have a lot of pictures of our weekend to share.

Cool effects

I finally got a little camera to carry around with me everywhere I go. I have wanted one for when I go out caching or just go out for the day with the girls. I have a really nice camera but it is so big and sometimes I just want a quick photo to post on the web or a picture of something that isn't real important that doesn't need to be enlarged at all. I bought a Canon (I would never buy anything other than a Canon) SD1000 and it is great. I stick it in my purse and take it everywhere and I have already taken a couple hundred shots on it. I have been playing with some of the effects that it has and some of them are really cool. That's what these pictures are, you choose one color and it converts the rest of the colors to grayscale. It's pretty cool, I have taken a couple neat shots like that. I can do this same thing in Photoshop but this is much easier and faster.

Goofing off

Before my brother left for the Navy he had to clean out his room and when he did he let Peter borrow all his game systems. I guess I was being boring for him tonight on the computer so he hooked one of the systems up to our tv in our room. He's entertained so I guess I should be happy.

Cook it up girls

After some grocery shopping and little bit of cleaning Angella and Michael came over for a few hours. We had fun talking and watching Spaceballs with the comment-
ary. They had some work to do at home so they couldn't stay all night but that was alright because our friend Nathan was coming for dinner. When I started getting things ready to make the meatloaf Brye and Abbi came to help me in the kitchen. They did a great job crushing up the crackers and preparing the meal. Then as always they set the table for dinner and they did a great job. They will both be wonderful mommies when they get older (much much older).

Breakfast in Ocala

This morning there was a geocaching event in Ocala where lots of cachers met up for breakfast. I arranged a ride with a cacher I had been out with a couple other times and another cacher that I had met at a previous event. After the breakfast we went and found a bunch of caches as a team. We had a blast and I reached my 900th find! The girls stayed the night at Miss Kim's house last night and they stayed there all day today while Peter was at work. I had a great time today but I will be happy to spend the day at home tomorrow with Peter and the girls.

Swim Swim

Today I took the girls over to my Dad's again to go swimming. There was no fear this time. Brye got her innertube and jumped right in before I had time to take my shoes off. Abbi jumped in a couple times (into my arms) and floated around in her crab innertube. It was very relaxing and while the girls at their lunch I had a chance to get some laps in. This picture is Abbi when she finished her sandwich after we were done swimming. Later I took the girls to Miss Kim's house to spend the night. I have an event early in the morning so Kim is watching the girls for us.

Visitors

After the downpour yesterday I looked out back and saw a little bunny. We use to see bunnies all the time when we first moved in but since there has been lots of construction with new houses we hardly see them anymore. On occasion we will see one or two run across the street but it is always at night and never in the day. Not too long ago we had friends over and when the spot light came on out back we saw about four rabbits hopping around out there. I always love to see wildlife, especially when they are so cute. In this picture you can see the bunny in the grass and also a female cardinal and a mockingbird on the hammock. They must have been having a meeting.