Ahhh...a welcome break

I just love, love, love vacations. I love the time to spend with my husband and kids; I love the break in routine; I love experiencing new things.

We returned late Sunday night from a great week in Florida, and I think it's safe to say that I about feel like a new woman. I did discover that it is totally crazy trying to get a family of five out the door for nine days, and contemplated chucking the whole trip. But boy, am I glad we went. Seriously, about ten minutes after we left at 5:14 a.m. last Saturday I felt the relief of vacation.

I have so much I could share, but today I'll share my top ten list of the best things about our vacation:

10. Seeing Sarah finally "give a tight squeeze" to Mickey Mouse (aka hug him) after numerous failed attempts. She's so brave!
9. Riding Space Mountain with Josh - his first real roller coaster!
8. Playing "sit down" in the ocean with Josh and Sarah - seeing how long we could stay seated in the water without the waves knocking us over.
7. Watching Megan's eyes light up on "It's A Small World"
6. Eating shrimp, shrimp, and more shrimp
5. Getting to read a whole book of my own choosing.
4. Watching the kids and daddy swim at nighttime. (Megan and I wanted to join, but bedtime beckoned for her.)
3. Hanging out with Jason...watching silly movies (you can tell we don't have cable when it's a treat to watch Karate Kid!), chatting about life, and having time to spend with the man I love.
2. Enjoying God's awesome creation...the vast ocean, the variety of plants and sea life, the peace in the breeze, His perfect order when it comes to everything from tides to sea turtles, and the beauty of a rainbow and the promise that it signifies.
1. Relaxing with, playing with, and just plain enjoying my four precious gifts from God - Jason, Josh, Sarah, and Megan.

I hope to get some pics posted at some point, but we are back in the swing of things, so no promises! : )

And I can't post this without giving a big thank you to my parents, who graciously let us stay at their place when we go down there! It's such a blessing! Thank you!

Happy Birthday, Princess Sarah!

We've had a fun week of festivities for our little princess!

It's like there's been a pink explosion around our house - tulle, balloons, signs, a giant castle. It's been fun! She got to have a princess party last Saturday with family and friends. She even dressed up just like Sleeping Beauty. Mommy dressed up like the queen.

Yep, all in the name of being a good sport.

Then on her "real" birthday, we had our neighbors over for dinner and she got to pick the meal. She chose tacos.

Did she eat the tacos? Of course not.

Ah, I love that girl, though.

So incredibly much.

Curing the Skadgers

Okay, so I'd love to post the "after" pictures of our landscaping, but I've been sidetracked.

The germies have invaded our house. The good news is that I believe we're about done with them.

The bright spot in the middle of our war with germs was when Sarah told me that she didn't feel well. (That sounds bad...keep reading...) When I asked her what was wrong, she replied that she had skadgers in her heart.

Excuse me, what?

Yep. She said it again. She had skadgers in her heart. 'Cause every little girl gets skadgers in her heart, right?

How do you treat skadgers? Children's Tylenol? Ice pack? Band aid? Trip to the ER?

Nope. Mommy hugs. They have the amazing power to heal about everything.

Apparently even skadgers.