An Endoscopy and Mark's Everest Video

Finally things are getting back to normal around here...at least for a few days. Ella only has five more days of preschool before her summer break starts, so then we will have some more adjustments to make.

Last week proved to be a busy week. We had a lot of unpacking and resting to do from our trip to Florida. To add to the fun, I had an upper endoscopy performed on me on Tuesday. The procedure involved knocking me completely out and sending a camera down into my stomach and small intestine. It was not all that bad as I really don't remember much of anything. I think Mark may have been more anxious than me...he doesn't like anything that involves needles. After Mark brought me home, I pretty much slept away the rest of the day. I was a little extra tired and light-headed on Wednesday morning, but after that I was completely fine. However, I did feel like I lost a whole day last week and I am still waiting to get my official test results.

Mark is getting anxious to start his garden, but the weather has not been cooperating. It keeps raining and staying on the cooler side. Maybe we can make some progress this weekend. Thankfully, my dad has finally been able to get some planting done. James and Ella have been anxiously waiting for their turn to ride along to help Grandpa Jim plant the crops.

I still need to go through more of our Florida pictures, but for now here is a video Mark is very proud of. On the day we went to Animal Kingdom, Mark stayed longer at the park while I took the kids back for naps. He was able to go on the Expedition Everest ride three times. On his last ride, he took a video from the front of the train. If you want to experience the ride, click on the video.




Here is Disney's explanation of the ride:
The Expedition EVEREST adventure begins when guests board an old mountain railway destined for Mount Everest. As the train heads for the snowy mountain peak, it passes through bamboo forests, waterfalls and fields of glaciers.

The excitement begins when it's discovered that the train tracks end in a twisted wreck of metal. From here, the train careens backwards and forwards through darkness, frigid canyons and treacherous caverns. A face to face encounter with the legendary Yeti (guardian of the Himalayas) brings this tumultuous train ride to its dramatic conclusion.

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the moms in my family, all the moms I count as friends and all the moms-to -be, Happy Mother's Day!

I am having a very nice Mother's Day. My cousin Kelly and her daughter Bella came to spend the night last night. They joined us for church this morning and Ella's dance recital this noon. Ella sang two beautiful songs with her church choir today. The second song was a Mother's Day song and it got me a little teary the first time I heard it. During the song, the kids shouted out, "My Great Mom!" with great big smiles. I took a video at the second service so hopefully I can upload it to share.

After church, Ella had to get dressed quick for her dance recital. It is so fun to watch all the little dancers. James enjoyed sitting on his Grandma Judy's lap for most of the show. He was enthralled with the music and the dancers....he was also getting a bit sleepy! This was Ella's fourth year of dance. She did so well and has grown so much. She loves the excitement of the recital and loves to perform for people...and she loves to get flowers after the show. She definitely likes being in the spotlight!

Now, James is catching a quick nap and we will soon be heading off to a 95th birthday party for my Grandma Ruth. Today is her actual birthday. Five years ago, on her 90th birthday, her birthday also fell on Mother's Day. That was my very first Mother's Day and I remember it well. Ella was so tiny then--just over three weeks old. Now it seems hard to believe that five years have passed by so quickly... These first years with my children have truly been a gift and I look forward to many more memories and Mother's Days to come.


My Little Dancer!

We are home!

We are home, unpacking, and resting up after our four nights at Disney World. We really had an excellent time! We were going nonstop the entire trip, except when someone was sleeping. So, we are all tired out. I will make a longer post later, when I have more energy. For now, here are a couple of pictures of our adventures.



I love this picture....Look at James looking up at Eeyore with delight and awe!

All smiles on the Teacup ride...our first ride at the Magic Kingdom!!

We're heading to Disney World!

We enjoyed a beautiful day at the beach yesterday. We looked for shells, made a sand castle, swam in the pool, had a picnic lunch at the beach and just enjoyed the day. We were able to be outside almost all afternoon. We rented an umbrella and beach chairs and James took a two hour nap on a lounge chair under the shade of the umbrella. While it took awhile to get him to fall asleep, it was great once he was sleeping as it meant that no one had to stay in the hotel with him and miss out on our ocean time. Isabella enjoyed playing in the surf with Mark and swimming in the pool, too! The only bummer is that everyone but James is a little pink today. We used SPF 50 and reapplied multiple times, but our family's pale MN skin that hasn't seen the light of day since last September was no match for the Florida sun. Hopefully the pink will disappear soon!

We will do a little beach walking this a.m. and then pack up and drive to Disney World later this afternoon. I don't think we'll give many, if any updates from Disney...I'm sure we'll have to pay for our connection there.

We Made It!

We made it to Florida safe and sound and without any travel difficulties. We arrived at our hotel on Cocoa Beach at dusk. We had enough time to walk down to the beach area just to take a

peek and now the kids are really excited for tomorrow. We hope to have good weather and lots of fun in the sand and surf tomorrow. For now, here's a picture of James sound asleep on the plane. He's using my lap as a pillow and if you look close, you will see that James is wearing his new "wings". He handled his first plane ride like a champ! Ella was a great traveler today, too!

Riding in an airplane!!!!

We are all set to leave and the kids are wound up! James is standing at our door holding all of his special blankies and saying over and over again, "Ready to go bye bye, ready to go bye bye!" Ella has been dressed and ready since the moment she got out of bed. Since it is snowing a bit here again, Mark and I are thinking we picked a great time to leave MN for Florida!!! Hope you all have a great week...I know we will!!!

We're Going to Disney World!

We've been talking about taking a trip to Disney World for awhile and we finally finalized all our plans. Ella is at the perfect age to enjoy the wonder of all things princess and Disney. She is super excited to travel and very excited to go to Disney World. We haven't gone on any far away trips together since James arrived. The last time Ella rode an airplane was when she had just turned two and we went to Florida then, too. Mark had to go there for work so Ella and I went along for the ride. While Mark worked, we hung out at the beach. It was a really fun trip! After Mark finished his work obligations we ended our trip with one day at the Magic Kingdom. Technically, James has never flown (He was along for the last Florida trip as I was about 11 weeks PG). So, this trip will be quite the adventure for him. Actually, I hope it is an exciting adventure for all of us. We will stay two nights at Cocoa beach and four nights on Disney property. I'm sure we'll come home completely exhausted, but hopefully we'll have huge smiles on our faces and wonderful stories to tell. I plan to post lots of pictures when we return!