M-I-C -K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!!

This past weekend we took our first family (with Ruthie) trip to Disney World!! We had a wonderful blessing of a FREE trip. My mom was at a conference in the Coronado Springs resort (a Disney resort) so she invited us to share her room. And, my brother's wife's family works at Disney and they got us into the park for free. Our entire trip (minus the gas) cost us about $5!! Talk about a blessing!!

We were supposed to leave on Thursday night when Tony got home from work. However, Ruthie's 2nd and 3rd trip to the pediatrician for an ear infection(s) that wouldn't go away got in our way. Poor Ruthie. She was SO pathetic. She DIDN'T feel well at ALL. She just sat around, and cried. Of course, she didn't sleep at night or eat much at all! We actually took her on Monday the first time and by Thursday when she was still running a fever and crying her head off at night, I took her back. That was Thursday. I thought he'd just change antibiotics and we'd be off. (Yes, I just admitted that I was taking my sick girl to Disney...but it was FREE) That's actually what he did, but he said come back tomorrow morning I want to check it out again. Which we did, and he then changed her medicine again because he could finally see that she had a STAFF infection in her middle ear and an outer ear infection. CRAZY. So, again we changed the medicine and went on our merry way. PRAISE THE LORD!! The third times the charm... she started feeling better after one day of the new meds!

ANYWAY

We were intending to take Ruthie to the Magic Kingdom where kids reign supreme, but once we got there we found out that because of an unscheduled "Regis and Kelly" taping that the Magic Kingdom was closed to cast members and their guests!

So, we quickly decided on another park and ended up at Hollywood Studios. We had a SUPER day. God blessed us with seeing Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck right as we entered the Park!! She did so well with those cute characters... She kissed Minnie's nose and Daisy's bill.

The best stunt show I've ever seen is their stunt show with cars. It's like the driving they do on the movie "drifting" I spent the entire show going... "oh"... "oh-no".... "woah" Because I thought they were going to hit each other. They were driving SO fast and close together. Ruthie, by the way, slept through the entire LOUD thing!! :)

At the end of the day, when it had gotten dark, we were able to see the "Osborne Family Festival of Lights". It's like 5 million lights or some crazy number. They had originally belonged to ONE family, and after some disputes with his neighbors he donated them to Disney to display at Christmas time. They played REAL Christmas music and it was just beautiful. When Ruthie saw the lights she used both hands to point and said, "Oh, WOW" over and over. It was totally cute. To top it all off, they at certain times during the light festival they had SNOW machines at the tops of the buildings.... and it SNOWED in FL!! (Except without the cold, and the bad driving, and the snow days!)

Anyway, after a week and a half of no sleep (due to Ruthie's ear infections....yes plural) over Thanksgiving, we were really excited to share this special weekend!! :) Enjoy the pictures below.

Friday afternoon at the resort's gift shop. We had fun looking at all the cool things. She liked these ears the best! Please don't mind the ketchup ALL over her face. She's just recently gotten into "dipping" and ketchup is one of her favorites. To put it mildly, she isn't the neatest dipper!


Saturday Morning- Ready to see Mickey!! We're on the boat to get to Magic Kingdom...


Tony and I on the same boat... it's almost empty because we're actually going BACK to the parking lot to get a different disney bus to take us to the Hollywood Studio's Park.


The only part of the Magic Kingdom we'd see that day... (boo hoo) The castle from afar!


Us with Minnie and Daisy... if you enlarge it you can see the PRECIOUS look on Ruthie's face. She's going in to kiss Minnie's nose!!


By this time in the day, she was needing another dose of medicine and Mr. Incredible scared her just a bit. She didn't want me to stand by him!


Uncle Matt and Aunt Rachel on the San Francisco street!


Daddy, Uncle Matt, and Ruthie waiting for the car stunt show


The amazing stunt show in action (remember, Ruthie is sleeping!)


Our fam with our special glasses!


With both pointer fingers point and say, "OH WOW!"


Ruthie reaching for the snow... which you can't see in the picture! Also note, that by this time of the day/night, one of her pig tails was completely OUT!!

One Hundred!!!

One hundred is a BIG number, and that is how many posts I've done!!! WOW!! I thought I'd never get there!! Since it's such a monumentous occasion, I'd like to let you get to know me a little more with a list of 100 things about me!! But, I also just got back home from a fabulous vacation and want to share with you about that... so I'm combining the two into one post!! (Lucky you!)

One Hundred Things about Our Vacation:

1. We flew to Kansas City, MO

2. It was Ruthie's first flight and she did FANTASTIC!!! A born traveler!

3. We were laid over in our airport for 4 hours. So glad we rushed to get to the airport for the allotted 2 hours before the flight took off!!



4. The starbucks at the airport stinks!! I was so glad to get to the terminal and to start our trip off right... with a starbucks. But, my mint chip frap was DISGUSTING. I took one sip and through the rest away. I don't know what went wrong. But, it was all wrong!

5. We went with my husband's family - Sister and her family, and his mom and dad! We had 9 people in all.

6. We went for Tony's family reunion on his mom's side!

7. We stayed with his Aunt Judy. She is so sweet and kind. She was the most gracious hostess.

8. We rented the family truckster- a 15 passenger van- for the week. We looked like we were with a church group!




9. We had a lot of fun the first day at Deanna Rose Children's Farm. It is a city park- so it was free!! It was the coolest place. If you're ever in KC definitely stop by. We were there for 6 hours. They had goats, horses, pigs, and chickens. Butterfly gardens and vegetable gardens. Fishing, pony rides, baby goat feeding, and hay rides. Playgrounds, mining for gold, milking cows, and little bitty tractors to race. We did most of the things, but could have come back the next day and done more!!








10. We met Tony's cousin, Kelly, and her daughter Gabrielle there that day.

11. Gabrielle is 14 months old and introduced Ruthie to many new foods!



12. Drove by Tony's house when he grew up.

13. Met his neighbor who still lives there.

14. Saw the creek that he jumped on his bike when he was young. (It's about 20 feet across!) He loves to tell that story.



15. Saw the elementary school where Mardi (my SIL) went to school!

16. Ate the BEST tacos prepared fresh by Aunt Judy. Ever heard of Perez taco shells? You have to fry them fresh to get them in the taco shell shape. Also, enjoyed Spanish Gardens taco sauce

17. We brought back a suitcase load of Spanish Gardens and Perez for our eating enjoyment!

18. Woke UP EARLY the next day to drive 3 hours to go to Silver Dollar City



19. Loved it and got to see Alana and her family I grew up with her husband, Rich and met Alana in college. They are true kindred spirits and wonderful friends. It's wonderful to pick up right where we left off the last time I saw them... for my wedding 2 and 1/2 years ago! Their sweet boys were so much fun to hang out with. I'm still looking for that stone bear, Richie!!





20. Enjoyed the rides and the company. Made some candles, saw glass blowing, ate some fresh made peanut brittle.

21. Ate the biggest pork tenderloin sandwich known to man. Shared it with the hubs.

22. Took the LONGEST (and scariest) route home. 3 hours turned to 4. Didn't get home till midnight. Was as cold as a Frozen piece of shrimp. (Tony kept the air on full blast so he'd stay awake!)

23. Saw 2 deer standing at the side of the road. Did NOT hit said deer.

24. Got up the next day and went to World's of Fun.

25. Totally recommend the rides. They were great! Especially the carousel. Fantastic! Actually they all LOVED the rides there. Many were like the ones at Busch Gardens.



26. I Don't recommend the BBQ at the park. The cashier is a LOT rude. Threatened to beat us up. We called manager. She's fired. EWWW-WEEEE Pray for me! End of story!

27. Ruthie met Snoopy. She loved him and even gave him a big kiss on his nose. Too Cute!



28. Left tired, cranky, and in need of food (see #26). Stopped at Subway.

29. Watched 1/2 of the movie Fools Gold and fell asleep!

30. Went to church with the family

31. Met most of Tony's aunts and uncles and A LOT of his cousins. His mom is one of seven, so there are a lot of people to meet.





32. They had yummy ham and mac and cheese, and the best barbecue beans I've ever eaten.

33. Ruthie loved the clown that came to entertain the kids. She wanted to crawl up to where all the big kids were sitting!






34. Stayed up REAL late playing phase 10. We love that game!!

35. Drove the Family truckster to down town KC to go to the Plaza and Halls- Crown Center

36. The plaza is a posh outdoor shopping place.

37. Halls, the crown center, is the corporate office for Hallmark.

38. A lot (including Aunt Judy) of Tony's family worked for Hallmark.

39. They have the coolest place called kaleidoscope where kids use all sorts of arts and craft items to be creative.











40. Tony made Ruthie a plane and a 1st birthday crown!



41. Inside the Crown Center is a wonderful mall

42. and the hugest store called- Halls!

43. Side note, it is true, once my MIL actually turn the card over to see if it was a Hallmark - just like the commercial!

44. The Family Truckster DID NOT fit into ANY of the parking garages!! We almost left several dents in the roof trying to fit!

45. We ate at the cutest little restaurant for lunch- Trains was it's theme.






46. The train goes around the top of the restaurant and delivers your food to you!!



47. They had cherry-limades there but they weren't quite as good as sonic's

48. Everyone started to get on everyone's nerves.

49. No one had enough sleep.

50. Tired = cranky

51. ate enchiladas - yes there is a Mexican theme here..

52. Yes, we used Spanish Gardens taco sauce to make and eat them!

53. Stuffed ourselves because Aunt Judy made 70 enchiladas because the boys said they could each eat an entire row. They didn't do too bad!

54. Played triple solitaire while waiting for dinner.

55. Ruthie loved Gabrielle's toys. They are toddler kind of toys, not baby toys like we have for her. Good thing her birthday is coming up... we'll have new toys!

56. Went to Cosco to buy our own container of Organic Animal Cookies. Anyone near a cosco I highly recommend.

57. When to Price Chopper to pick up our fresh perez taco shells and spanish gardens sauce to bring home.

58. Saw the Price Chopper that Tony worked at when he was in High School and college!

59. Went to FUN HOUSE PIZZA and ordered lunch!!

60. This was basically a whole in the wall, but had really yummy pizza. Wish we had it here in FL!!

61. Ate pizza.

62. Packed Up ALL of our stuff.

63. Our stuff didn't fit into the luggage.

64. Had to leave some not so necessary items!

65. Loaded the Family Truckster... to the brim!

66. Said goodbye... boo hoo :(

67. Drove exactly 41 minutes to the Airport.

68. Got to the airport more than 2 hours early.

69. Had to repack some of our bags because one was over the weight limit!

70. The air conditioning was out at the air port.

71. Not a good combination- cranky, tired and HOT travelers...

72. Our flight was NOT delayed this time.

73. Ruthie did NOT sleep this time.

74. She played the entire time we were in the air.

75. Both times we had an empty seat between us so Ruthie had some room.

76. None of our bags were missing.

77. Our rides picked us up at the airport and took us home.

78. Even though we had a lot of fun, it was SO nice to be HOME.

79. Glad we took the extra time to clean the house before we left!

80. Missed Aunt Judy and her yummy breakfast the next day.

81. Missed waking up to the smell of bacon!

82. Missed all of us being together.

83. Ruthie really enjoyed having daddy home all day for a week.

84. All she wanted was Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!

85. We were all exhausted.

86. Ruthie has slept until 9:30 each morning since we got home.

87. Our bags are only 1/2 unpacked.

88. I hate that job.

89. Laundry is done.

90. We miss Aunt Judy

91. We miss Kelly

92. We miss Gabrielle

93. We enjoyed being on vacation with Grandma

94. We enjoyed being on vacation with Paw-Paw

95. We enjoyed being on vacation with Aunt Mardi

96. We enjoyed being on vacation with Uncle Jack



97. We enjoyed being on vacation with Luke

98. We enjoyed being on vacation with Bailey





99. We loved spending time with each other



100. We are glad to be home!



WOW!! I did it!! Had to stretch it out a little at the end!! To all the two people who are still reading... thanks for hanging in there with me!

32 & 4 in Ft. Lauderdale

Nope, it's not a secret code to an off shore bank account...don't I wish... it's a one line summary of our weekend!! We visited my grandparents (Ruthie's Great Grandparents) in Ft. Lauderdale this weekend, and Ruthie and I had a birthday there!!! On Sunday, I turned 32 (ouch) and Ruthie turned 4 months (TIME IS FLYING!!!) But, the most important part of our weekend was spending time with Grandma and Grandpa and watching Ruthie love on them. It is so amazing what God does for us. He loves us so much that he gives us such special time. I see the earthly representation of God's love in my Grandpa. He is so sweet and kind. It was such a joy to watch him love on Ruthie.

I also was touched watching my grandma (Ruthie's namesake) interact with Ruthie. We named our first born after my grandma because we pray that Ruthie grows up to be just like Grandma Ruth. She is hard working, tender and kind, and loves her family and her God with all her heart. She is a picture of Proverbs 31. I am very blessed to have her as my Grandma.

Sunday (our birthdays) we spent going to church, going out to dinner, and then we had to say goodbye and drive home (Don't get me started on the drive home...Lets just say it started out at 6:00 with us heading to Miami instead of Naples and ended at 2:30 AM with two dogs, one baby- who was awake- and two cars loaded with stuff- putting gas and air in our tires to make it home !!! There's got to be a God lesson in there somewhere...)

Anyway, here are a few picture from our sweet weekend!!


Great Grandma Ruth & Ruthie




Great Grandpa Bill & Ruthie




The crew at an outdoor mall on Saturday



My honey and Me



Getting ready for Church



Grandpa Fogle joined us for a Birthday dinner!



Grandma, Grandpa, and Me at Houstons, my favorite restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale. It sits on the intercostal waterway and it is BEAUTIFUL!! We sat outside so we could enjoy the weather, the boats, and the water...along with the company!!



Happy Birthday, from my sweetheart!



Too much fun for our little girl...over and out!!