A Miner Problem: May 2011

Monday, May 30, 2011

Happy Memorial Day!

We are grateful for all those who make freedom possible in the past, present, and future.

We thank you for that beautiful gift which make our lives so wonderful.

All our earthly possessions are boxed up for the moment not knowing when we will unpack them again. We left Gainesville with a full heart of great friendships and memories. But atlas we have left in search of the next 'perfect' job and home. Our hope is high as the hunt is on. Until then, you can find us enjoying our time together.

Or at least until one of us bump heads with his brother.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

More Photography by Gavin

After our treasured guests departed from Gavin's birthday party, we lounged on the floor watching our boys play. Looking around at the mess and thinking of how absolutely perfect the party went. Gavin found the camera on one of the chairs and asked to take our picture.

'Hold Still'

'Say Cheese'

Then he shouts, 'get closer' which made us bust a gut.

What a crack up! Kids really are sponges that soak up everything you say and do.

The Pirate Party

Last week, we informed Gavin it was his birthday soon and he immediately insisted on a party. Since we are moving soon, we had not thought about it but he quickly listed the guest list. We suggested several themes but he always came back to a pirate party (which makes sense as his favorite show right now is Jake and the Neverland Pirates). We kept it real simple with balloons, cupcakes, a few games, and a few friends from church. He was beyond excited for his friends to come over for his pirate party and smiled the entire time.

It's amazing how entertaining balloons can be.

At one point, the kids went on a treasure hunt around the house for gold doubloons...

..and discovered gold in Gavin's bedroom.

They had to put their gold doubloons in the team treasure chest then.

And to their surprise held goodies for them to keep.

We had a pirate picnic of veggies, cupcakes, and juice boxes.

Jack Sparrow even made an appearance at the party.

We then played a treasure map sticker game (think Pin the Tail) which turned into a sticker festival of all sorts.

The kids then enjoyed a little free play while the adults chatted down stairs.

See the twins in the book nook, Nicole? They reminded me of Gavin's first, forever girlfriends.

One more present: a preschooler backpack to help Gavin keep track of his books and toys while we move.

Showing off his Peter Pan figures to his friends.

Captain Gavin thanks Emery, Katie, Audrey, Myra, and Annie for celebrating his third birthday.

It was a pretty 'arrgh'-some party!

His Last Free Visit!

Where else would we help celebrate Gavin's birthday than at Disney? It seemed only natural for our family at this point. We asked which rides Gavin wanted to ride specifically for his birthday and he named almost all the rides at every park. We decided on Magic Kingdom in the morning and then Hollywood Studios in the afternoon.

Not the best shot of the entrance, but I was not waiting for the space to clear and we had not got a shot of the entrance yet.

We finally waited in line to ride Astro Orbiter.

Too bad we did not have fun.

We lucked out with the front row on Small World again.

Gavin cannot wait to drive a real car when he is 'bigger.'

In the afternoon, we park hopped over to Hollywood Studios. The new Star Tours opened last weekend and Fantasmic! was scheduled that night, both attractions we had not seen.

Star Tours turned out to be a blast (pun intended) with super short lines. Then for dinner, we headed to the Sci-Fi Diner-In Theater. It was too hard to snap a picture in there, but head to the site to get an idea. It was great having the boys entertained by the giant 'drive-in' screen while waiting for our food. After dinner, we discovered where the Mickey character spot was in the park. The pictures are sadly not the greatest but the memory was preserved.

Logan was pretty exhausted at this point and lost it a second after this shot when we saw Mickey. The crowd watching 'awed' in unison beautifully.

Fantasmic! was great but pretty late for our kidlets (9:00).

My babe looked like this after two minutes on my lap once the show started. No complaints.

Then like this once in the car with his pajamas on heading for home.

And here is our oldest with his birthday present, the Peter Pan character set, clutched in his gripped never to be let go. After the Pirates ride at Magic Kingdom, Gavin asked if he could have a pirate sword. We told him to slowly look around the store and pick one thing he wanted to take home. Notice the treasure map a.k.a. park map too.

Another beautiful day!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Wait for it, Wait for it...

Apparently it is video day as I have another for the vault. While making his birthday cake, I had the camera ready and waiting for the moment I thought would happen. Then around the one minute mark it did and my snicker ruined my stealthy filming. Love that boy!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.9

Life as We Know It for Now

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.9

Packing has provided lots of joy for my children so far.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Touch-A-Truck

The city of Gainesville held at Touch-A-Truck event at the county fairgrounds this past Saturday. Imagine a place where young boys (and their fathers) could touch any button, climb in any vehicle, and honk any horn on the vehicles around town. The city gathered trucks, boats, buses, and public service vehicles into one convenient spot and let the kids touch anything. Every mother's dream come true! The first 500 children even received a bicycle hemet and proper fitting for free. Luckily, we went early enough to beat the crowds, heat and the helmet limit. Gavin is obsessed with his helmet never wanting to take it off at home meanwhile Logan freaks out after wearing it for 0.002 seconds. Classic.

Armored SWAT Truck