We all got it!!!

So we took a family vote and the consensus was to go back to Epcot for our last day! The kids had already been to the Magic Kingdom twice and had ridden everything there at least once so we arranged with Craig's sister to meet us at Epcot with the kids:) The bad news was that everyone in the family managed to get the bug either throughout the night or even at Epcot (both Brian and Matt puked at two different restaurants throughout the day and Craid had it during the night when I was sleeping off my own!!!) Being confined to a hotel room with various people having various items coming out of various ends of their bodies does not make for a pretty situation!!! We still managed to have fun (it's amazing what Pepto and Motrin will do for you!!!) and the kids all still managed to have a good day!!! Needless to say, we called it quits early and headed to Criaig's sister's house to get some much needed R&R!!! We will be here for the weekend where the kids can spend some time with ALL of their cousins on the Rose side before we make our journey back to Texas:)

Hollywood Studios...The Beginning of the End!

Hollywood Studios started out great but ended in a nasty way!!! We got there right at opening and the boys really enjoyed the Extreme Motors Stunt Show...watching cars and motorcycles race around and jump through fire had their full attention!! Toy Story Mania was a hit...they had all ridden it before at Disneyland and were super excited to get on it again:) The biggest surprise of the night was Brian and Matt riding twice and LOVING the Tower of Terror!!! Indiana Jones was another fun show in which they can't wait to get home and watch the movies with Daddy now!!!

After a fun day, I was ready to go by about 7...I felt horrible and kept warning my family that I was going to puke. Well, the floodgates opened as we pulled into the hotel parking lot and I lost all control of my stomach, managing to cover myself in what I care not to describe!!! After showering everyone off and a quick swim for the kids, Mommy retired to bed as our last fun filled day is quickly approaching!!! (Let's just hope that I'm the only one who gets this!!!)

A full day at the Magic Kingdom!!!

Click for pics!!!

To my fellow late night followers...I was tired last night! I fell into bed while Craig was changing the kids and was of no help whatsoever:)

Yesterday was a day of losts, yes losts at the magic Kingdom. Let's see...Luke lost his bowels over lunch and ruined his Elmo undies, resulting in a giant meltdown when I threw them away (I was not going to carry around those undies all day in the 100 degree heat!!!) Matt lost himself getting off of a ride after repeated warnings to stay with us and hold on over and over the last four days (Craig and I could see him but he couldn't see us and we are hoping the lesson was finally learned!!!) Brian lost full control of himself in line for the Goofy Coaster, resulting in Craig losing control of himself:) I had the biggest loss of the day though...my camera! While changing Luke in the baby station to a pull-up, I managed to set it down. I didn't realize it until 25 minutes later and was stuck in the sky on the people mover with Matt & Luke! Thankfully for honest people, it was right where I left it in the baby building and we were able to move on past that incident (surprisingly, Craig did not lose control of himself during that incident!!!)

Besides our day of losts, we had a really fun time!!! We were able to skip Fantasy Land since we had done it on Sunday (thank the Lord cause it was a zoo over there!!!) Brian and Matt each rode and LOVED Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! They had both been on Thunder Mountain before but Space Mountain was a first!! I can proudly say I have the bravest six year old I've ever met...not only did he ride Space Mountain, he rode alone since Craig was sitting with Matt!!! He wanted to go again after his turn with Daddy and since Craig was with Matt, Brian hopped on by himself!!! Luke had a blast on the Goofy coaster again, and even rode hands up like his brothers! The biggest two surprises of the day was Luke LOVING the Pirates of Caribbean and all three boys being absolutely terrified of the Haunted Mansion! I have three roller coaster daredevils who are terrified of fake ghosts!!! All three boys thoroughly enjoyed the Electrical Light Parade, Brian went into full photographer mode!!

Click for Brian's view of the Magic Kingdom!!

Today we are off to Hollywood Studios for another day of fun!!!

Epcot!!!

3 days down, three to go!!! We are HOT, tired, smelly, have sore feet (well Craig and I do from pushing strollers all day!!!), have a pair of broken glasses (Matt's!!!), a few bumps and bruises (Luke!!!), have spent some time in corners for various reasons (Brian!!!) and are having an absolute ball!!! The kids LOVED Epcot today...it was probably their favorite day so far! We were originally on our way to the Magic Kingdom and were literally about to board the monorail when we realized the monorail line for Magic Kingdom had about 400 people in it while the monorail line for Epcot had about 40...we made the executive decision to go to Epcot!!! It was a good decision, the kids were able to ride multiple rides over and over without even having to get off:)

Luke's favorite ride was the boat ride through the pyramids of Mexico...featuring Donald Duck! We rode it three times in a row without getting off and he still wasn't ready to be done:) Matt and Brian LOVED test track, as well as the Nemo ride and Turtle talk with Crush! They all really enjoyed making a mask and going to all of the different countries to get stamps on the stick, as well as having their names written in various languages! The kids were all passed out by the time we reached the monorail to head back and tomorrow will be the Magic Kingdom (for real this time!!!)

Animal Kingdom!!!

Like usual...click for more!!!

Today we headed to Animal Kingdom where we were able to do every single thing on our list:) We met all of the characters, saw the parade, went on a jungle safari, ate Asian food in Asia, rode Expedition Everest twice, went on a super fun and slightly scary (according to Matt) dinosaur adventure twice, rode flying dinosaurs (therefore omitting our need to get on Dumbo!!!), went on a wet and wild tube ride, got our super awesome hats signed by Mickey, Pluto and Goofy and even managed to almost knock over Donald while acting like giant hillbilly children, resulting in a 'cast member' ask us to "please not do that"!!! (seriously, my children may be the first ones to actually get in trouble by the fake smile plastered on their faces cast members!!!


We all truly enjoyed Animal Kingdom and even managed to not really mind the 95 degree weather with 100% humidity!!! We were back to the hotel by 9:30 and had time for a quick dinner and a "bath" in the pool:) Tomorrow we are back to the Magic Kingdom!!!!

Click the picture for a view of Animal Kingdom from the eyes

of Brian, Matt and even Luke!!! (Warning...116 pics!!!)

Mickey's House!!!!

Click the two different pics to see more!!!

Well Luke might as well head back to Texas as he completed everything on his list tonight...Mickey's house, "Dinne" World and the Goofy coaster!!! We got to Orlando this afternoon and after checking into our hotel, we had two stops...Downtown Disney followed by the Magic Kingdom! We had dinner reservations at the T-Rex cafe (think Rainforest Cafe but all Dinosaur animatronics) in Downtown Disney and thankfully the kids weren't starving!!! As we walked in we were greeted with a life-sized T-Rex that let out a giant roar in our faces and Luke totally lost it!!! He started shrieking and screaming "get me out!!!" from the stroller, he was completely terrified and had tears pouring down his face. We decided it probably wouldn't be a very fun dinner if Luke was hiding so we had McDonald's instead:) After souvenir stops at the Lego factory, the worlds largest Disney store and Goofy's candy kitchen we were off to Mickey's house...the Magic Kingdom!

We arrived at the park around 8:30 and went straight to see Mickey so that Luke would finally see that we weren't just fooling him day after day:) After touring Mickey's house, we made it to his barn where he was doing photo-ops. When it was our turn to go in, Luke saw who was at the end of the hall, screamed "Mickey, Mickey, Mickey, Mickey, Mickey and ran full speed ahead right into Mickey's waiting arms!!! It was absolutely priceless!!! After some pics with Mickey and some kisses with Minnie, we had to go since the next group was coming in. Luke apparently wasn't ready since as we were all exiting he ran back to Mickey for one last hug, completely jumping into another family's photo-op!!! Luke finished off his checklist with being able to ride the goofy coaster, his official first roller coaster!!! There was no line and he got to ride it twice without getting off, laughing, cheering and riding with his arms up the whole time:)

Lucky for us the kids napped on the way down to Orlando and we were actually able to make it until 11:30 before they got crabby!!! By that time, it was extra hours and not very crowded so we busted out Fantasyland and can cross it off our list (which is fantastic since it is always the most crowded area!!!). All the boys were passed out in strollers before we even got to the monorail and hopefully getting re-charged for Day 2...the Animal Kingdom!!!

Disney through the eyes of Brian & Matt!!!

Jacksonville to see The Williby's!!

Click for more pics!

Nine years and six kids between us later, Beth is still one of my best friends! We met teaching at Immaculate Heart together in 2001 before either of us had any kids! Though we don't see each other as often as we would like, you would never know it. We make great use of our phones (a bunch of times each week) and pick up right where we leave off every time we see each other!!! A trip to Florida wouldn't have been complete without a stop at their house. Adam is her oldest, followed by Josh and Leah. The kids all had a fabulous time together and played like they were long lost friends (even though none of them remember the last time they were all together)! Some swimming, lots of games and a boys campout on the floor ensured good times for all! The kids are all already asking when the next time they'll see each other will be?!?!?!?

The car ride...

Click to see more...

FYI, Matt & Brian have their own camera and are making use of it!!! So the trip began with us sending all of the kids to Houston on Wednesday to my parents house so I could actually pack and get everything done:) Friday afternoon, Craig and I left Austin and met the kids with my parents around 6:30pm, and set off on our journey for an overnight drive! The theory behind this was that the kids would sleep through the night and when they woke up we would be in Jacksonville...this almost happened!!! Obviously they were WAY excited to be on our way and went to bed much later than normal. But by 10:30, the car was quiet and Craig and I were enjoying a peaceful drive. Brian decided to grace us with wide eyes at 4am and you can imagine how he was the rest of the day!!!

By 6:45, the sun was up and we had a car full of wide awake kids with hungry tummies. One would naturally assume that breakfast at Denny's would be a quick stop...right?!?!?! Ummmmm...no! Denny's took over 25 minutes to get us seated and in that 25 minutes, Brian managed to get himself removed from the lobby by his armpit, shouting "Mom, that hurts" the whole way out! Matt and Luke decided that wrestling on the lobby bench was a fantastic idea and managed to break Matt's glasses...all of this with the three of them in their jammies, making our hillbilly look complete! Breakfast then proceeded to take one hour to arrive from the time we ordered, only enhancing our hillbilly persona for everyone's viewing pleasure:) At one point my dear husband looks at our table, which Luke was currently under trying to tickle his brothers and announced "Thank God we will never see anyone here ever again!" We got to Jacksonville slightly later than planned, and have yet another restaurant on our growing list of places we are probably not welcome back at!!!

We're off to Disney World!!!

Let the fun begin...we are off on a 10 day roadtrip from Austin, Texas to Florida!!! Our first stop will be Jacksonville to see friends, from there we will head to Disney World for six days of Mickey fun, followed up with two days in Orlando to see Craig's sister and her family!!! The boys are SOOOOO excited for the trip...anyone who speaks to Luke has heard nothing except for the following phrase for the past 30 days "Mickey's house, Dinne World, wide wides, Goofy coaster"!!!

"I didn't know I was that GOOD of a boy!"

What an awesome night! We took the boys to the swimteam awards banquet knowing we had awesome kids and left the banquet with the whole team of 300 kids and their families knowing!!! Brian and Matt both proudly received the gold medals and their certificates with their best stroke times for the season listed on them along with all of the 6&under boys. They were beaming from ear to ear so proud of themselves!

Click the picture of Brian to see more!!!

After all of the age groups had been recognized, the biggest award of the night was announced...the Coaches Award. One boy and one girl from the whole team of 300 receive this award and Brian was that boy!!! We sat there as such proud parents listening to the head coach tell everyone that Brian was receiving this award for having the best attitude on the team, for always encouraging others, for having the best effort on the team, for having the best manners on the team, for improving in every stroke by at least 10 seconds, for the willingness to try whatever his coach asked him to do and to do it with a smile, for never saying "I can't", for his compassion to others and for just overall being the kid on the team that everyone should try and be like. To hear someone talk about your child that way is unexplainable...as parents we all know we have the most amazing kid on Earth but to have it told to a group of about 500 people with your precious six year old standing on a stage beaming from ear to ear holding an almost two foot tall trophy brings a sense of pride that we never knew was possible. Brian won this award 100% on his own...it wasn't handed out to the kid whose family donated the most money or the kid whose parents volunteered the most...it was handed out to a little guy that lives his life to please others and is the kindest, most caring six year old I've ever met!!! After he returned to his seat, Brian asked me what all of the things the coach said about him meant and when I told him his reply was "I didn't know I was that GOOD of a boy!"

An awesome first season!!!

Same as usual...click the pic for LOTS more fun!!!

Swimteam is officially over and I couldn't be prouder!!! We finished our last meet tonight and the boys had an AMAZING night:) We have missed the last three meets due to being in Houston, being at the beach and having strep throat so the boys were bound and determined to do well! That is an understatement as to how well they did...Matt knocked a whopping 22 seconds off of his freestyle time!!!! You read that right...22 seconds!!! It was the first time this season he looked like a true swimmer...perfect dive, perfect breathing and no stopping on the lane line:) Brian did equally as well...he was his heat winner in freestyle, knocking 9 seconds off of his time and placing 5th overall!!!

I had no expectations when I signed them up in April other than to become stronger swimmers and to be confident of their abilities in the pool. Three months later they can both do perfect freestyle and backstroke (Matt just finally got backstroke this week after a LONG struggle!!) and both have mastered the basics of breaststroke and butterfly! Matt's biggest accomplishment is that he can dive better than Brian and Brian's biggest accomplishment is that he got heat winner one time in both freestyle and backstroke! I am such a proud Mommy of these two little guys as well as Luke...the best and biggest fan of the boys!!!

Fourth of July on the Beach!

Like always...click the pic to see tons more!!!

Once again living in Texas has advantages...like the beach three short hours away!!! We decided to spend the long weekend on the beach in Corpus Christi and Hurricane Alex made it even better as it scared everyone away (although it did cause a giant seaweed mess but no one really seemed to mind)!!! Corpus Christi has multiple beaches to visit...Corpus Christi beaches, Port Aransas beaches, Mustang Island beaches and North Padre Island Beaches (all within a 20 mile radius of each other). We got down there on Saturday afternoon and spent the early evening beach hopping to see where we wanted to spend our time at the beach:) The kids loved it as every beach we stopped at they got to hop out and "test it out for fun" before we made our decision.

We decided we liked the beaches on North Padre the best (you get to park your car right on the beach next to you eliminating the whole schlepping everything to the beach) so the morning of the Fourth, that's where we headed. Luke has no recall of our week long trip to South Padre last year and had an absolute blast rolling in the sand, playing in the waves and collecting shells. The bigger boys (Daddy included) enjoyed boogie boarding, playing catch and outrunning the waves:) After a six hour day in the sun and sand, we headed to the hotel for showers, dinner and fireworks!!! We literally sat right on the steps of the beach seawall and watched the fireworks shot right off of the back of the U.S.S. Lexington, a retired aircraft carrier in the harbor.

Our last day we gave the kids a choice...go back to the beach or go on the U.S.S. Lexington and explore it. Being active boys, it was no surprise to us that they chose the giant ship! We spent four hours climbing all levels, seeing where all of the important things on the ship are...Dentist, Doctor, Post Office, beds, potties and mess hall:)

Emma's Baptism

Craig and I were blessed to become Godparents for the first time to our sweet Emma, the precious little girl of Aunt Kel & Uncle Chris! While we've done the Baptism thing three times, it was extra special to be on the other side of it:) We already LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Miss Emma like our own daughter so this just makes it a little more real!!!! And the best part is...we feel like she's part ours now so there is really no need for us to have our own little girl:)

He did it!!!

We are the proud parents of a six year old that waterski's!!! We bought Brian a starter ski last year and he decided that the most crowded weekend on the lake was the perfect time to try it out:) He was nervous getting started but Daddy and Uncle DJ had a master plan that worked! Daddy was in the water with Brian holding the ski and pushing him up while Uncle DJ was on the jetski next to him. Brian got up on his second try and was able to ski for five full minutes, even making two turns before letting go from exhaustion!!!

Please excuse my choppy video (it's two and a half min.)...I had tears of pride running down my face, the water was full of waves, I was bouncing up and down and my camera was in video mode that also allowed me to shoot pictures while taping:) On the plus side...you can see all of my pictures during the video:)

Super Swimmers!!!

Click the picture to see more!!!

It's official...my boys are following in Mommy's footsteps and are on the swimteam! Brian and Matt are super proud members of the Round Rock Dolphins. They absolutely LOVE swimteam which after coaching a team for seven years makes my heart proud! Tonight was their first meet, a practice meet against our own team and they rocked it! Brian got 1'st place in his heat in both freestyle and backstroke and went to bed grinning from ear to ear! Matt successfully made it across the pool in freestyle without stopping (a HUGE accomplishment) and even managed to NOT get last place!!

Backstroke was a different story...the poor guy had a meltdown as his heat was getting in the pool and refused to start from inside the pool. He was hysterically sobbing that he didn't know how to do the arms in backstroke and managed to hold up the entire meet for a good two minutes. After finally coaxing him into the water assuring him he would be fine, he pushed off the wall on his back, immediately rolled over and swam the whole lap freestyle (while everyone else was doing backstroke!). He got a standing ovation from the crowd for finishing well after everyone else as swimming while trying to stop crying takes a LONG time!!! Needless to say, Mommy and Matt will be having a backstroke clinic this weekend!!! Craig and I are super proud of our big swimmers and can't wait to see how awesome they will be by the end of the summer:)

Big Tex!!!

So I didn't wake up this morning and think "Hmm...I should get a puppy today", but somehow that is exactly what I did!! Craig was at work, Brian was at school so Matt and I decided to amuse ourselves looking at puppies online. Craig and I knew the day we had to put Mia down that another dog was in our future...particularly a puppy since the boys have been bugging us before Mia even got sick for a puppy. I don't think either of us expected it to be so soon but when you find the right one you seize the moment;) "Tex" is a 10 week old, 18.7 lb. ginormous puppy!!! He is a mix of Great Pyrenees and we think either Newfoundland or Bernese Mountain Dog (all of which are giant dogs!!) He looks like a black and white Saint Bernard and is freakishly calm which was a HUGE selling point! We are expecting him to be well over 100 lbs. fully grown which should be a good match for our three active guys! His freckles on his nose sold me and we are all (even Craig!) in love with our new guy!!!

Matt Graduated Preschool!!!

Click on Matt to see more pics...FYI....Brian took 1/2 on his own!!!

It's official...Matt is no longer a preschooler!!! While this may make Mommy very, very sad, Matt is super excited to get to go to Brian's school, and have PE, and buy lunch at the "restaurant"! His preschool had a graduation where the kids sang, got certificates and had a little party afterwards. Gaga, Papa, Mommy, Daddy, Luke and Brian (we busted him out of school for the big event) all came to watch our little Moose sing so proudly. Hard to believe that in a few short months I will have two at school full time and Luke at preschool twice/week :(

Mia...

After an eight year run in the Rose family, Mia went to Heaven today. Who would think that you could be so attached to "the worst dog in the world"? I swear I should be the millionaire, not Marley's family:) Mia was like an ATM machine in reverse, she always had a problem but they were usually self-inflicted which made it that much more frustrating!!! Before we found out how sick she was, we were extremely frustrated one day with her peeing herself in her sleep and jokingly made a want ad for Mia. It went something like this:

Free to good home (or really any home that will be willing to take her), GIANT yellow lab, weighing in close to 100 lbs that was kicked out of obedience school not once, but twice. Has absolutely no common sense and will charge towards you knocking over anything in her path (including small children). Loves any and all candy or treats and will help herself to your pantry, cook top, counter or whatever else she may see. Loves to swim and will find any source of water to hop into (even the lake behind your house on the golf course with golfers playing on it and will not get out no matter how many times you call her, no matter how loud you scream!!). Absolutely LOVES car rides (but cannot go in truck beds as she has jumped out of a moving one resulting in ripping off all four pads of her feet). Loves glow sticks (not to look at, but to eat...this also causes massive vet bills!) Excellent watchdog...great at barking (if you have neighbors you don't like, Mia will bark at them until they decide to just move away!!!) Has excellent hearing, but also has chronic ear infections...again resulting in massive vet bills! Has some peeing issues...tends to flood herself in her sleep but helps you clean your floors daily:) Overall great dog!

It makes our hearts happy to know that we made the right decision and Mia didn't really suffer. She was diagnosed with rapid onset of diabetes on Monday resulting in loss of bladder control and failing kidneys, she went completely blind on Wednesday and peacefully went to sleep for the final time with Craig and I sitting there with her at the vet's office on Thursday morning. We know we will never be able to replace our "horrible dog" that we all loved with all of our hearts but will always have the memories of all of the bad things she did to keep us laughing forever.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

It was a long weekend in our household. Saturday consisted of the boys football game, the boys football party, Mommy's pedicure and a night at the Round Rock Express Baseball game! Super busy, super fun, super long day!!!

Mother's Day was great:) The boys woke me up with breakfast in bed which consisted of grilled cheese and tomato soup all around! I was showered with homemade presents, as well as a dozen roses and a card with the boys wishing me Happy Mommy Day so I can forever hear their precious little voices! This was followed up by fixing the trampoline net (my geniuses thought putting a hole in it to exit was a much smarter idea than getting out the exit!!!), some yard work and haircuts for the boys...all such glamorous things!!! I got a really cool shirt after I showered to wear on errands and out to dinner and the boys were so proud to have me wearing it:) After a peaceful dinner at Olive Garden (Luke fell asleep in my lap), we headed home with full tummies and smiles all around!

I hope everyone had as nice of a Happy Mommy day as I did!!!!

Moose's BIG news...

Matt had officially crossed the line from preschooler land into BIG BOY land by learning to ride a two wheeler!!! It has been a LONG process with a VERY argumentative, strong-willed child but this past weekend he did it! Craig and I have seen him do it on a few occasions but after one fall off the bike, Matt was convinced he couldn't do it. After three and a half long, hot hours in the cul-de-sac with some yelling, some sassing, some crying, some eye rolling and lots of reassurance, Matt proudly joined the two wheeler club! We are super excited to begin taking family bike rides now that Matt will actually get on his bike. (Luke proudly has a seat on the back of Mommy's bike and calls it "Wookey's bike"...Brian finds it hilarious that Luke has a pink and white bike!!!)

Click the picture for more fun pics!!