Question?

Okay here is a random post but I am wondering if anyone can answer my question. I have noticed that when I leave a comment on someone elses blog, it says cuddles,kisses & amp;tantrums. WHAT THE HECK IS THE amp; ? I did some searching on other peoples blog comments and I am at least happy to say that it isn't only mine doing that. Bonnie's is as well and someone I didn't know. Can anyone tell me why it is doing that all of a sudden?! I have gone into fix it but it WON"T FIX!!! AHH! I hate when I don't understand computers! HELP!

Our Big Vacation for 2008 SEATTLE

WARNING!! Once again this will be a boring post for anyone not a part of our immediate family! Please keep in mind that I am documenting our vacation as a journal/scrapbook for my kids and future posterity! If you feel so inclined, feel free to read the following post, but I take zero responsibility for death by boredom or spontaneous napping! I will have to have many posts in order to fit everything in, so if you feel like leaving me a comment please leave it at the very end! My post is so long that you will have to hit the older posts box at the end of the screen to go to the next page! (Does that make sense mom?)

Here we goooooo!

Off we go!

Brayden has been excitedly awaiting our trip to Seattle for 3 months. Everywhere we have been from the grocery store to the doctor's office, Brayden has told anyone that would listen that we were flying on a big jet. We left for the airport on Wednesday morning the 16th of July. By the time we made it to the airport here in Orlando he was flying high with excitement.
Ten minutes into the flight, the excitement wore off and both were sound asleep. Brayden was slightly upset that we didn't fly into outer space, but was quickly over his disappointment when we told him we were going to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner!

Day 1 "Seattle"

Thursday morning we woke up bright and EARLY- the kids were still on Florida time- and went to Woodland park zoo with their Wheeler cousins and Grammy Dina. The brisk morning air was so crisp and refreshing- for about 10 minutes anyway- and then I realized that it wasn't cool outside but FREEZING cold. We saw a few animals- a giraffe from many angles, an elephant taking a pooh, and some birds landing on sticks, but mainly empty habitats at the zoo. I think that it was too cold for them to venture out of their cages.
After lunch we headed into downtown Seattle to ride on the Duck. This was my favorite part of the whole day! I was plenty warm because the sun came out while we were eating lunch and I managed to borrow a second jacket from Diana. The duck took us all over Seattle then drove over to Lake Union and turned into a boat. It floated us past Gas works park, several ships from the show "Deadliest Catch," and the floating homes and houseboats. We went right past the house where they filmed Sleepless in Seattle. This was my favorite part of the tour. It brought back memories of Travis and I sneaking down onto private property when we were first married and getting caught by his boss! Those were some good times!

After we finished up with the Duck, we headed onto the monorail and down to Pike place market. I love pike place and the fresh bouquets of flowers you can buy there for $5.oo. The kids weren't too impressed- I think that they were tired of walking- but they perked up once we found ourselves at Red Robin for dinner.

Day 2 "Meet the Larsens"

Friday we met up with Travis' old friend Matt and his family. They are a great couple with two cute kids. I now have a new friend -Cherie- who is super cool, so now we have another reason to visit Washington more often. I think that I need to convince them to come to Florida for a vacation. Hopefully I will have more luck with that than Matt had trying to convince me to leave Orlando and move to Seattle! :) We went to the museum of flight and saw old planes from WW1 and WW2. I am sure that there was a lot of other interesting things to look at but I was too busy trying to keep an eye on my kids. Three decrepit, unpleasant old men told me to control my kids more times than I care to remember. We also went into an old air force one jet and the concorde. I would like to go back again without my kids and see all the things that I missed. We were also able to watch the F22 raptors take off and head to an air show at Fort Lewis. That was a cool sight. I have never been that interested in the whole military plane thing, but this was spectacular. It has made me rethink attending an air show! Thanks Larsen's for spending the day with us!

Day 3 "The lake"

On Saturday we went to a lake and had a big Osborn family BBQ. Our surroundings were beautiful and the lake looked like a post card. As soon as we got there, our kids were begging to go swimming. After about 30 seconds they were whining a different tune. "It's tooo cooold! I wanna play on the playground!" I, being the mean mom that I am, made them get in the water for a couple of Kodak moments.
This picture is Brayden screaming "I wanna get out!"

Kaity finally got to meet her cousin Abby. They are like two peas in a pod!

Day 4 SNOW

Sunday we took grandpa Wheeler with us and joined everyone on Mt. Rainier. A couple of months ago when we told the kids about our upcoming trip, Kaitlynn begged us to take her to the mountains. I can hardly describe her delight when she not only saw a mountain, but snow as well!

This picture is Brayden hitting Kaitlynn with a snow ball. He too now has a love of snow! The whole gang at Mt. Rainier
Brayden, grandpa wheeler and Kaity

Day 5

Monday, grammy Dina took us to Wilcox farms to see some animals and an actual working farm. We were able to go into the egg plant where we saw how eggs make it to the grocery stores. Interesting stuff! I now have a new appreciation for omlets!
we had to "suit up"

The kids loved feeding the animals. I loved seeing the old school house and vintage cars. :)
After the farm we headed to Northwest Trek. We rode an open air tram through natural habitat and saw lots of wildlife. I think that we saw more there than we did at the Zoo! Thanks Diana!

saying goodbye

Saying goodbye is never easy. We had a great vacation and I just wanted to say thank you to all that played a part in making our trip so special. Kaity was already begging me to let her call her grammy Dina this afternoon and Brayden kept saying "I love Seattle." Thank you grandpa wheeler for letting us invade your home and putting up with our little monsters. Thank you Diana for EVERYTHING! Thank you doesn't seem to be enough but it is the best I can come up with! We have made memories that will last a lifetime and that will be cherished for years to come! We love you all! :)

Happy 30th Birthday Pam!

Welcome to the "old ladies club!" Happy 30th Birthday Pam! I am so glad to have another fellow member of the "club" I reluctantly joined in May. I am posting this a couple days early- I do know that you don't officially join the club until the 18th Pam- but I am headed out of town in the morning, and I didn't want to forget to wish you the happiest of birthdays! I have so many good memories of you that it is hard to pick just a few, however I will try to narrow it down to some of my favorites!



1. My love of pickles is all because of you! When I was diagnosed as a diabetic, I remember your mom buying us lots of pickles to eat after school because they wouldn't effect my blood sugar!

2. I will always have a love of English because I met you in Mrs. Haas' English class in the 7th grade. Remember how we would always stop in the bathroom to apply some ghastly pink lipstick before class?!

3. I remember when you came with my family to California on vacation. I loved how horrified you were that my mom took us into consignment shops! We also stopped for Slurpee's at AM PM all along the way!

4. Remember how we used to crank call Jeremy Bettridge and we hacked into his answering machine? Remember when he used *69 to call back and your mom answered?

5. Why were we always so gassy? Remember our farting contests!?

6. Do you remember 4 wheeling in your Bronco, and then washing it before your parents got home from work so no one would know what we had done?

7. I remember how we snuck out of your garage one night and went to the Nugget for french fries. When we got back your parents were awake and we had to sneak back in.

8. I remember when you danced with Vince S. at a school dance in the 8th grade. He gave you a red balloon when it was all over and you hyperventilated all the way home! :)

9. I loved going to all your family parties, especially the ones at Uncle Hank's ? house in Washoe Valley. I loved that I was treated like a member of your family!

10. I remember how bittersweet high school graduation was. We had a blast at our party, but I was so sad for it to end!

Well these memories are just a drop in the bucket! I could go on and on. I just want you to know how much I treasure our friendship and how much you mean to me. I hope that you are doing well and that you have a fantastic birthday! Happy 3oth!!

WHEN TWO VOWELS GO WALKING...

I have been saying since the day Kaitlynn was born that I gave birth to my sister's baby! Then 3 years later, I gave birth to a mini Travis. This past week I have finally realized that Brayden is a child after my own heart! Kaity has been struggling with her writing skills and hates reading books. When my child shouts "I HATE READING," I feel as though someone is putting a dagger through my heart! Early on I discovered a love of literature and it has only deepened as I have grown older. When I was in the second grade, I remember my mom going over to my school to get me special permission to check out big kid books from the library. When I would get in trouble, her favorite form of punishment was not no TV or even a grounding from friends. Nope, she took away my books. That was the ultimate blow to a book worm!

This past week Travis found the Leap Frog DVDs at the library. Brayden received the Letter Factory for his birthday and the next day he knew every letter in the alphabet and the correct sounds they make. This wouldn't seem like a big deal except I had been working with him and letters for a month and nothing was sticking. Monday morning I let him watch the Word Factory and that night he was reading. He is SO proud of himself, and has developed a love of learning and reading that is making my heart rejoice! Finally a child that is taking after his mommy!

I just wanted to share these DVDs with all that have little ones learning how to read. I am not kidding, these are miracle workers! Now if only Leap Frog would make DVDs that explained "how to put the toilet paper roll on the holder," or "the proper use of the laundry basket," or better still, "why we flush the toilet," then I would buy some serious stock in that company. As it stands I am now a huge advocate for this learning system and I encourage all to give it a try!

Happy 4th of July!

This year for the fourth of July we stayed home instead of going out of town. Friday was the fourth and we attended the annual Apopka ward breakfast and patriotic program. The kids were part of "it's a grand old flag" song and enjoyed marching through the chapel waving miniature flags. The motivational speaker was a fruit loop from the ward that was either putting me to sleep or making me bolt upright in my chair thinking"Did He Just Say That!?" He seemed to think that it was his opportunity to stand on his soap box and preach his political views. TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE! Yeah it was some good times. Next year I heard rumor that the speaker will have to have his talk approved before he/she will be allowed to give it.

Later that night we hung out with the Johnson's and the Douberley's for a BBQ. Good food and great friends is a nice way to pass the evening. Saturday Travis had to work, So I was home with the kids until about 2 o'clock. I had planned to take the kids to the pool during the morning hours but discovered that I had left all our swim gear in the trunk of Travis' car- so no pool. Sometimes miracles come in strange ways. Instead of the big pool I decided to fill up the little pool and let the kids run around the yard. As soon as I turned off the water, my phone rang. It was dad calling to tell me his scooter had broken down in the middle of the hood and that he might need me to come get him. Turns out that mom was able get home on her scooter and come back for him in the truck. Well the truck broke down as well. Dad called me again and I threw the kids in the van and went and picked them up. I guess that it is a very good thing that I left all our gear in Travis' car so that I would be home to help the parents. Later that evening we had a BBQ with the family and watched Bryce light off all his fireworks. You'll notice Kaity and I in jackets and pants. No, it wasn't chilly out. We were trying to keep the bugs from biting us and carrying us away. We had sweat running down our backs and into unmentionable areas, but we are proud to say not a single bite! So all in all not really an event filled weekend but it was spent with family and friends and that is what really counts.