Daisy's Birthday Surprise

We had decided to give Daisy her own room for her birthday.  And we told her we had a surprise for her. She had said she liked this bedding when we were at Target one time.

As an aside...I have TERRIBLE patience on giving gifts.  I wanna give them the second I see the gift receiver.  Just ask Daniel.  I'm not sure he's EVER waited for his bday or Christmas, heck even close to those days for his gifts.  I can't help it.  I am so excited!  But this time I had to wait. We were having the room painted and so forth.  I. WAS. DYING.

We still planned on giving it to her the few days before her bday! :)  Once it was painted I had to sprint and decorate.  We had to move furniture and keep doors closed.  She had to be kept busy and outta the house.  One night (the day the painter came) she smelled the paint.  She said, "Dad, what is that smell?  Is our A/C?  You need to get that checked out.  It stinks."  HA.

Anyway, she LOVED it.  She was very surprised.  She loves having her own space.  She loves the owls (which are very in right now...they are everywhere!).

As for the other 2 sharing a room...we were a little nervous about Colbie "early bird" Jeaner waking up Isaac.  But it has been fine.  They have done really well sharing a room.

So here is Daisy's room...

When we bought this bean bag it was just me and Dan in good ol' Mountain Lodge.  And now there are three little kids laying on it...WHO'S KIDS ARE THEY??  Mine?  what?  no way...

One morning I was out driving the kids to school and this was the view...so beautiful. :)

Pics of Colbie

 She loves her Daddy, even though when he asks her if she does she says, "uuuuummmm, no."  She loves to go "high in the sky" with Daddy.

 Above:  First time ever.  Probably the last. Jeaner was tired!  Her early rising schedule (5 am or earlier!) was catching up to her. :)

She loves to hide in this closet in my laundry room.  :)

January Randoms

SO, these 2 pics below are a LONG story.  We went to a "Circus" that came thru town.  It was call Piccadilly Circus.  We had free kids tickets.  We showed up and it was SUCH A SCAM.  The adult tickets were 32 DOLLARS EACH (CASH ONLY) the cheap seats and $42 for ring side.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  And in a nut shell, the circus was composed mostly of house pets, bad jugglers and poor english.  :) Want more detail?  Read on....

Surely you have some questions for me.  Are you curious what actually happened?  Well, go ahead and ask...

Was there a big top (like the ticket advertised)?  NO.  

Was there a real life Transformer there in person to meet?  NO.  

Was there a "petting zoo open one hour before the show"?  If by "one hour" you mean they opened the gates to enter at show time and if by "petting zoo" you meant 5 llamas giving the hairy eye, eager to spit and 2 monkeys (that really you can't reach)...then yes. 

But were we there early for it with all three kids?  YES.  

Surely you could feed them for free?...yes, "$2 a dixie cup free".  

Were there elephant rides?  Surprisingly yes.  

Was it expensive? ...well the guy said it was $5 a ticket...but when the kid  (someone we don't know...cause at this time we woulda had to barter clothing to have money for it)  got up to ride...it was 2 tickets to ride.  REALLY?!

Did you feel robbed when you paid RIDICULOUS amounts for the snacks and the popcorn was stale and the cotton candy was too?  Yes but mostly confused.  I mean the cotton candy could be in the bag for weeks...but the popcorn?  We were the first show of the weekend!  Couldn't they pop us a new batch?  Was it left over from the last town they scammed?

Were you bummed when the juggler dropped the balls six times but then scared when he reached for the fire batons??  Distraught and dismayed!  

And did the same feelings apply when the scantily clad dancing lady disappeared and turned into a white tiger???  YES...but then I felt the urge to grab my children and run in the event they let that tiger out in the ring. With the whole "inept juggler" thing I was a little nervous.  Thankfully they just rolled that tiger outta there still in his cage.  

Was the house cat high dive or the Sheep dogs in the tube slide your favorite part?  Oooh.  That's a toughy.  I'll have to go with the dogs...they were a fluffy barking frenzy that looked like cotton balls (several at a time) sliding down a straw.  Brings a smile to my face just thinking about them.  :)  

Thankfully we went with the Pells and Tolers who helped us to take it on the chin a little better.  We had a good laugh about it.  And Lisa was sure to inform the animal right activist (yes there were protesters) on the way out that the cats were treated sweetly and the sheep dogs LOVED the tube slide (maybe they could save their time and protest elsewhere?).  BUT the kids loved it, and that was the goal. 

Live and learn. 

 Who's the lady on the motorcycle in the background, you ask?  She was one of the riders in the big ball...I had my phone handy in case I needed to call 911.

 This is a view from inside my room one morning.  Is nothing sacred?

 This blue chair has been hours of fun for my kids.  It's an office chair that they lay on and slide around the house.  Good times.  And the head band was made by a friend at church and given to Daisy.

 Electric Company TIME!!!  4:30 Eastern baby!! :)

 Daisy working on her homework.  And me trying out Instagram.

 YAY!  A cup from the National Championship!!! RACHEL IS THE BEST!!!

 Daniel Jones:  who went from the occasional cigarette (Nokia Flip Phone) to straight up snorting crack cocaine (iPhone 4S).  The 4S has actually been a bit disappointing so far...

 And this is BABY WHITNEY CLAIRE...how cute is she????

And this is Co...continuing his obsession with Cars. :)

Daisy's Bday celebrating begins...

This year Daisy's Birthday was celebrated over a 2 week period.  We gave her a "big gift" early cause it was too hard to hide (see later posts).  Then Jeeg, Julie and Emery were coming in town so we postponed her bday party til they came.  The day before her real day of birth we took in these sugar bombs to her lunchtime on Friday.  

Here is the story on these...Daisy has a favorite friend, Coralei, at school who has a peanut allergy.  It's not super severe but the school takes NO chances.  If you bring in cupcakes you have to prove somehow that it was not made in a plant were peanuts thought about going. :)  I appreciate the schools diligence in this.  I know it would comfort me to know my child was protected there, even when I couldn't be there to monitor the food.  So Coralei usually just gets a Rice Crispy Treat if someone brings in a special treat. Daisy said, "I don't want her to have a Rice Crispy Treat!  I want her to have what everyone is having!"  So sweet DAISY JONES.  So I called Coralei's mama to see what she could have...Oreos.  So we came up with this monstrosity. :) They loved it.

Lunch the next day...

 Jack Gorman, one of our favorite friends...loves him some "Dr Jones"...

 Girls at lunch...Megan, Emma and Coralei

 When we all sang Happy Birthday to her...Daniel wanted the cafeteria to be sure and know WHO we were singing to.  :)  Daisy wasn't the least bit ruffled by it.  She actually loved it.

Outdoor Movie with House Church Friends

The Owens had our house church over for a SUPER yummy chili (italian version) by Andrea and a fun movie under the stars for the kids.  They bundled up and watched Curious George.  The grown ups enjoyed uninterrupted conversation and a fire in the fire pit.  It was great.  We had s'mores when the movie was done.  What fun!!   Another perk of living in FL...outdoor movie in January. :)

5 points of Life Kids race

We went to the 5 points of Life kids race this weekend.  

Daisy had gotten new tennis shoes...she needed some BAD.  And it was just in time!

Get ready....get set.... 

GOOOOOO!

Bean and I waited as Daisy, Isaac and Daddy ran.  They run a mile (-ish) around the mall.  Daisy ran the whole way and loved it.  Isaac and Daniel ran too.  Dan said Isaac would sprint, sprint, sprint then stop and sit on the curb and say, "Dad (pant! gasp! wheeze!) I (gasp) wish I was home right now.  Like not at the end, but like (pant!) at our home."  Then off again, sprint, sprint, sprint and then, "Dad (pant! grimace!) I (gasp) wish I could FLY!" Off again...  Man, doesn't every new runner feel that way?  hahaha!

After the race they were playing fun dance music.  Colbie Jean couldn't help herself!  She was gettin' DOWN. 


(but I have to mention here that although Colbie loves to dance she does NOT hold a candle to her cousin, Emery Claire.  That little red head is a dance MACHINE.  And seriously, if she grows up and isn't doing something dance related it will be a shame.  I'm already exercising my dialing fingers to vote for her on So You Think You Can Dance.)

Go Colbie, Go Colbie... 

...It's your birthday....in February...

Aww, the kids got their pic with the race sponsor. :)

Coco made it and got a medal! :)