Halloweek

So apparently it has been so long since I blogged that things have changed around here.   Blogger has gone all fancy and I can't figure it out.  That will explain the gaps and only centered pictures.   You will have to just bare with me.   At least I am posting....we will figure out the details down the road.

Aren't they just the cutest?   Kaelan really wanted to do whole coordinating costumes of years past, but when we looked at Daphne costumes, she claimed they looked like a Doodlebop outfit and refused to get one.   I couldn't talk her into being Velma.   What's wrong with Velma?  

After a week of pining over every costume magazine and website she could find, she came running into the room to tell me she had found IT!  

She loves Annie, and an adorable Annie she turned out to be!

What a ham!   There were so many festivities the week of Halloween

!   I have trouble remembering all the things we did.   One of the highlights was our Great Pumpkin night here in the neighborhood.  All our friends came out for a night of pumpkin games, treats and a showing of the "Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" on the outdoor screen.   Kaelan and Dad made homemade pumpkin cream pies ala our good friend, Ree's recipe!  Mmmm....they were good!

We also attended a Trunk or Treat at our friends' church, and the kids had the best time.   It was great to see that all the "old ones" immediately recognized Kaelan's costume while all the "young ins" had no clue who she was.   Am I really that old?

Hard at work on the pumpkin cream pies.

As usual, we had the tour of the 'hood with all our friends on a candy mission.   This photo only shows a few of the kids.  Sadly, I did not get a whole group shot.   We ended our rounds back at the house for play and potluck.   This is always a treat for all the kids, as Doug puts up the jumper and let's the kids work off some sugar!

Here's to a another great Halloweek, and here's to me for (finally) posting these pictures!

Tagged!

You know, you do your best to raise your kids right. Teach them the ways of the world.

Right from wrong. Honor thy mother and father. Do onto others.....

And then, you just hope....hope that some of it sticks and they don't end up on episode of Dateline.

I don't know where we have gone wrong, maybe we haven't, but our little hoodlum has gone ghetto. We came upstairs recently to find our mirrors had been tagged. Graffiti on every mirror and window she could get her hands on.

At least it was with glass crayons and not spray paint. At least it was bible thumping, Sunday school friendly material. At least she capitalized God (and spelled it right!).

No Crips or Bloods messages here. Just a message from the "BiBoL" gang.

Maybe there is a nice church camp type juvie we can look into.

Making Steve Irwin Proud

It was Turks and Caicos. That was my final choice for vacation this year. An all inclusive resort with me on the beach and a good book on my lap.

A particularly bad start to the hurricane season this year changed my mind and our plans.

I must say, Gatorland was never on the radar, but from the moment we decided to go to Florida, it was on Kaelan's!

She absolutely adores crocs, snakes, gators, any critter. She simply loves The Croc Hunter and feels that she is Bindi the Jungle Girl's long lost sister.

Look at that face! You could have filled that pond with cotton candy and lollipops and not gotten this reaction!

Okay. Let's just get this next series of pictures out of the way. I am certain I will be ousted from the "Parent of the Year" award banquet this year.

For the record, I was VERY much against this, but Kaelan and dad begged and assured me no live or limb would be lost. I am cringing. Just look already.

And the final pose......

Is your heart rate up? I know. I know! That is my baby holding that gator. Yes, I know the mouth is taped, but still....THAT IS MY BABY!

We took a nice long hike through the swamplands after that to calm my nerves.

Kaelan got lost in her thoughts out there.

Another one for the "Mother of the Year" album. Ha! The joke is on you! That sucker isn't real!

Don't worry, it got me, too. I almost gave birth when Doug and Kaelan tricked me with this one. He is fake. Thank God.

The folks at Gatorland are insane. Seriously, anyone who has a Jumperoo Show that consists of holding raw chickens up for gators to jump up and snatch needs to be examined in the head region.

Mom can stomach this type of Gator Wrangling.

See this guy? Well, there were hundreds him around the gator park, and despite their graceful demeanor, they are MEAN!

What you can't see in this picture is the skinny little crane attacking my bumside. Right there in this picture, I am being violated, and you can't even see it!

I guess it beats a sneak attack from a gator.

Just had to include some pictures from some of our nightlife fun. We headed over to Downtown Disney and Kaelan met up with some friends.

Captain Jack and Buzz.

We dined at some great places down in that area. One place, The T-Rex Cafe was a huge hit. Go if there is one near you!

Wizards, Seussville, and Arabian Nights

What? Go to Orlando and not visit Seussville and the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter?

I think not!

First, we made a stop at Jurassic Park. Kaelan directed these shots.

Mom, look like you are scared and running away.

Mom, get me fighting the T-Rex and scaring him away from daddy.

She just looked too cool not to share this one.

Another stop in Toon Land.

Seussville

The place to be was of course the Harry Potter exhibit. It was the only time we actually faced a crowd. It was worth it, though!

Mmmm....Butter Beer.

I am not a huge HP fan, but go if you can. It is truly magical.

**Post Edit*** It dawned on me after publishing this post that I forgot to tell you about the great Hippogriff ride. Well, since Kaelan was much too small for the big Harry Potter ride, dad convinced her to ride the Flight of the Hippogriff. This was NOT a baby in the belly ride....I am not even sure it was a ride I would have done without a critter in my tummy, but Kaelan seemed game (perhaps the word is naive). This was her first big ride, afterall.

I parked myself near a castle and waited to for them to reach the front of the line so I could film them coming around the bend. After a few moments, I heard the most blood curdling scream, so I looked up from checking emails to find out where the young girl who was surely getting sawed in half must be (what else could make that kind of sound?). It took only a second more for me to recognize that scream. Yep, my kid shattered many an eardrum that day. She blew her horn the whole ride. It all happened so quickly, and I was laughing so hard, I didn't get a chance to get the camera rolling. I probably should have snapped some pictures of people coming off that ride shaking their heads and holding their ears, but I did not want them to know I had any ties to the screamer. For legal purposes.

And that, is the Great Hippogriff incident. You will hear it referenced later.

A few of Doug's cousin's live in the Orlando area, and one of them is actually a star in the Arabian Nights dinner show. We scored some sweet seats and went to watch Misty perform. Kaelan loved the show and enjoyed hanging with the cast afterward (Really, she did. Just ignore the unpleasant faces she is making in the pictures.)

House of Mouse

I am really glad we opted to only spend one day at Disneyworld. Having hit Disneyland in CA last year, we really didn't need more than a day at this park. I found myself getting a little peeved when we first arrived and I saw the crowds. I purposely planned this trip at a Disney down time. However, everything worked out perfectly. Turns out the parade was just hitting Main Street, so everyone was out in this area at that time. Once the parade was over, the park was ours. Mommy likey.

Kaelan, Mom and Baby (as Kaelan is so kindly showing us).

We hit all the kiddo rides. Dumbo, Peter Pan, Snow White. You name it, we rode it. Probably more than once. Kaelan was still a little fresh from the whole Hippogriff thing on this day, so it took some convincing to get her to try the bigger stuff. She approached more than one big ride, only to change her mind after watching it for a while. And that, is why Space Mountain rocks.........

You can't SEE Space Mountain, until you are ON Space Mountain.

I nearly peed myself when I saw her coming through the tunnel at the end.

Take a look at that hair and that look of pure shock. Poor kid!

We totally forgot that the seating on SM was individual. In the pictures from the ride, Doug in actually leaning forward with his arms wrapped around her. I am not sure who was more frightened on that ride.

I will tell you that every morning for the last week or so, Kaelan comes to me and the first words out of her mouth are "I am not riding Space Mountain ever again. Okay, mom? Remind me if we ever go back."

It all ended well. She seems to have made it through thus far therapy free.




On the ferry ride back to the parking area, Kaelan reached over and patted both Doug and I on the leg.

"Thank you for taking me on this trip, Mama and Dad. I feel really lucky and wish I could take all kids on a trip like this."

Times like these, you think you might not be a total screw-up for a parent.

"Oh, and I am NOT going to ride Space Mountain ever again!"