The "Sixth" Challenge

I got tagged by Stef to the "Sixth Challenge". I normally don't do tags, forwards, or anything like that...once in a while if I am in the right mood and have time, I will do them. So I guess I'm in a "tag" kind of mood today. I won't tag anyone, though. If you want to do it, go ahead!

Here are the instructions

1. Go to the photo folder in your computer
2. Go to the 6th folder of photos.
3. Go to the sixth picture.
4. Put the picture on your blog and description of it.
5. Invite six friends to join the challenge.



This was a great picture to happen to be the 6th picture in my folder. I didn't realize it had to be the 6th folder...so I just used the current folder. This was taken when we went to Pittsburgh during Christmas break. We just felt like going somewhere...so we did. We went to Ikea and the Pittsburgh Children's Museum. This room was an optical illusion. It made you feel like you were walking straight but it was completely slanted. Totally weird feeling.

I like this picture because it captures Dane's natural ability of being the best dad ever! I couldn't have asked for a better father for my children. He LOVES to play with them and have fun with them. They all adore him - and choose him over me most of the time. He is so loving and patient with them. They are lucky kids to have him as their dad.

Okay...so I thought I'd find the sixth folder out of curiosity and it goes exactly with this post so I thought I'd share. I think this is Christmas 2005. Dane has taught all of our kids the art of cookies and milk. None of them will eat cookies without milk now. Love you babe!

Formal Night

It is always fun to have an excuse to get dressed up other than church. We had a yummy dinner followed up by some seriously sweet dancing.
My sister, Randi. She has a talent for fashion (something I wish I had). The lace on this dress is from the 50s and she somehow put it together. It was beautiful!

The beautiful Amanda (my cuz from D.C.)
The cutest couple ever...Casey and Lisa. They can make us laugh like no one else!!! And they're dead sexy.

I think they going for the serious, smoldering look but it turned out looking angry and dorky.

Now that's sexy.

My cousin, Alex, and his wife, Eva. She was pregnant and sick...it made me grateful not to be pregnant on the cruise!

Monday, January 19 - Day at Sea

The first night we left at 4PM and sailed all night and all the next day and night. So Monday we just hung out around the ship and played.

Mom & Dad at dinner.
Randi & Allie at dinner. Why are they so dang cute and how am I so lucky to be related to them?
Mom & I were picked at random to be participants in a game show on the first day. Yea...I won!

The Cruise

We had the most incredible vacation ever!!! It was a much needed get away for us without our kids. We went with my parents, siblings, cousins, and second cousins - 28 people all together. It was such a fabulous reunion with family we haven't seen for a while. It was also adventurous and relaxing all at the same time...if that's possible. I will have to divide these posts up into days because I have so many pictures and we did so many different things.

My brother and his wife (Casey & Lisa), my sisters (Randi & Allie), and Dane & I all flew out to Tampa together. I almost didn't know what to do with myself because I am so used to having kids with me. It was kind of nice to be able to look at a real magazine with nothing that resembles a cartoon. I think I even got to take a nap. That usually doesn't happen for me on airplanes. We stayed at the Hilton and took a shuttle to the cruise doc the next day.
How many people can you fit into an elevator? All of us and our luggage...pretty impressive. Heaven forbid we use separate elevators and get there 30 seconds later.

We got to lay down on a hotel bed without kids jumping up and down on us.
Getting ready to board the ship!!!!
Dinner with no kids menu...heavenly!

We're Baaaacccckkk!!!

As some of you may have noticed, I have not been blogging for the past month. We have been out of town so here's a whole bunch of stuff comin' your way. Lots of vacation posts and some funny kids stories...it will probably take a few days to get it all up. Thanks for reading!!!

Chicago Airport

I had no pictures to capture this lovely event but it can't go undocumented. You think I would learn by now that traveling by myself with 2 or more small children is not a good idea. I guess I'm a slow learner because I keep doing it but I sure have some fun stories. The plan was to fly to Chicago, have a 1 hour lay over, and fly to Salt Lake by 10:30 PM. Well....it was all of 2 degrees in Chicago and snowing so there were some delays. We were an hour late leaving Cleveland but the airport people said it was okay because the next flight was late too and just in case I didn't make that one, they had me on another back up flight.

The plane ride was surprisingly well. We had the usual battle of Braden kicking the seat in front of him about 95 times and dirty looks from the people in front of us. I have learned to get over that...it is an hour and a half of your life, you'll live! We land in Chicago and I feel relieved...now I just have to get to my next gate and we'll be fine.

We sat on the runway waiting for a gate to open up...and waited...and waited...and there goes the first flight...more waiting...lots of wiggling and screaming from 2 restless boys...waiting...still no gate open...some sweating and panicking - they have turned the cabin air off because we have "arrived" in Chicago...waiting...waiting...no standing up with your screaming children - we will be moving any minute...more dirty looks from people in front of us...waiting...waiting...back up flight is now boarding...waiting...still no gate.

Finally after an HOUR of sitting on the runway, a gate opens up. I run through the airport in high heeled boots carrying Bennett and pushing Braden in the stroller. Don't forget about the 5 carry on bags that I have, too. I run across the airport to a different terminal....the flight is gone and that was the last one out tonight. After getting shuffled around and being sent from airline to airline and back again, I realized I was stuck. They don't do anything for you if it is related to weather. SO here I am with 2 very tired boys in a strange city with no idea what to do. I pulled it together long enough to get a hotel (which I had to pay for), find a shuttle to take us there, and rebook our flight for the next day. Then I remembered that I was so smart to pack our coats in our luggage which was on its way to Salt Lake. So it had now dropped to -6 degrees and we had no coats. I bundled Bennett in the tiny blanked I had and gave Braden my sweater and we headed for the hotel.

It all turned out to be okay. The hotel people were nice and gave us toothbrushes and things to get us through the night and we were able to get on the plane the next morning but that was not the funnest day of my life. Braden called Grandma Judy & Grandpa Mike from the hotel and said, "Grandma, we didn't land on Utah." He was sad but the most stressful thing to him was that he had to sleep in his shirt and underwear because we had no jammies for him to wear. He cried about that but not about being in a strange, freezing city stuck in a hotel without coats. Go figure!

We arrived in Salt Lake at 11:00 the next morning and headed straight for Target to buy a clean outfit to change into because our luggage was still missing. It was delivered late that night. It could have been worse...they could have lost our luggage in the process!!!

Rude Awakening

Don't you love it when your 4-year-old drags his 1-year-old brother out of his crib? Don't you especially love it when it is 1:30 in the morning and they both come running in your room saying, "we're done sleeping...get up!".

I DO!!!!!!