Can't We Just Travel by Map? Oct 2013 PTR

[oopsiDAISY]

So, my baby boy turned seven on Sunday. This year we decided to really do a big bash for his birthday celebration. We have had parties for him before, but on a much smaller scale. This was his first BIG party! He chose Indiana Jones as the theme...months ago. And thank goodness for that, because that is not a theme that is easily planned at all. The party turned out GREAT though, and our little guy has not been able to stop talking about it. Pictures?

The decorations:









Our trusty treasure chest...



The cake:



The birthday boy:



Dinnertime:



After dinner it was off for a scavenger hunt in the woods around our house:



The scavenger hunt ended with the last item hidden in our tree house:





I took some pictures of the other folks at the





Another group shot of our "explorers":



Our cutest little explorer:



Continued in the next post...

 

[oopsiDAISY]

After the scavenger hunt, we all headed to the front porch for an archeological dig:



There were bones and jewels discovered in the dig:



Friends and family just hanging out:



We went back inside and washed up for cake after the dig. This is by far my favorite picture of the night:



After cake and ice cream, he opened presents:



He is a bit hyped up on fun and sugar at this point..can you tell?





Lots of Indiana Jones gifts:



Most folks left after the gifts...but then another phase of FUN happened for Brian and I. One of the little boys that came was dropped off. When his parents came to pick him up, they ended up staying for over an hour, just hanging out with us on the front porch... and guess what the topic of conversation was!!! DISNEY!!!!! They are big WDW fans too, and go every year as well. We had a great time with them sharing stories.

The kids got into the goody bags and had some fun with mustaches:





Overall, it turned out to be a super wonderful party. By the time the last folks left Brian and I were EXHAUSTED! But, like I said, Gabriel loved it and has not stopped talking about it since...so it was well worth the effort!

 

[KatMark]

Gabriel's party looks like a lot of fun. You did a great job with the themeing and the activites. Can I be invited to the next one?

 

[Pluto0809]

Awesome birthday party! I love the decorations. All those snakes!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

After all the fun and excitement of the night before, we were tired and looking forward to a nice, quiet evening at home. Our kids had been at my folks' house all last week, so we had yet to have a family dinner and relaxation with them since they got home Sunday night (the party was on Monday night).

After picking them up from day camp yesterday, we got home to find MICKEY MAIL sitting on the counter!!!!



Our cruise planning DVD had come! The kids were anxious to watch it, but I knew Brian had homework he needed to work on...oh I don't think I told you all, he is doing the online business degree completion program through the university I work at...FOR FREE!!! This is why I work here, free college for Brian and the kids!

Anywho, I told the kids we would have to watch the DVD on another night so that we could all watch it as a family. The girls and I got dinner ready, and I went in to tell Brian it was ready since he was working on his homework already in our bedroom. He comes into the kitchen and asks: are we going to watch the cruise video while we eat?

Yeah, remember how I said he is trying to be all Mr. Cool about the cruise? He is just as excited as the rest of us! So, last night we had a carpet picnic in the living room while we watched the cruise planning DVD. It was a great night in our home!

 

[DMGeurts]

Love, love, love Gabe's party!!! WOW - I cannot believe all the awesome details... Great job pulling it off and it looks like everyone had a blast!

And the girls - I cannot believe how fast they are growing... Just in this last year, they have grown so much!

And WHOOT about the trip planning CD!!! How awesome!

D~

 

[Chicago Mo]

I am just SO SO SO excited for you!!!
So happy for you and finally some Pixi dust found its way to you...
your children are beautiful!!!
I posted on your facebook but will say again! your themed parties are the BEST!!!! i love reading them!!!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Gabriel's party looks like a lot of fun. You did a great job with the themeing and the activites. Can I be invited to the next one?

Thanks! Our house is always open! I have GOT to get back to movie nights again! WE took the summer off from them since summer was so busy already. I am ready to start rolling on movie nights again!

Awesome birthday party! I love the decorations. All those snakes!

Thanks, Ariana! Girl, you should work where my office used to be before I transferred departments...I shared an office suite with Biology professors...professors who had snakes and big lizards in their offices!

Love, love, love Gabe's party!!! WOW - I cannot believe all the awesome details... Great job pulling it off and it looks like everyone had a blast!

And the girls - I cannot believe how fast they are growing... Just in this last year, they have grown so much!

And WHOOT about the trip planning CD!!! How awesome!

D~

Yes, my girls are growing entirely too rapidly these days... breaks my heart.

I am just SO SO SO excited for you!!!
So happy for you and finally some Pixi dust found its way to you...
your children are beautiful!!!
I posted on your facebook but will say again! your themed parties are the BEST!!!! i love reading them!!!

Thanks, Mo! It has been a tough year financially. So glad to be over the worst.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Last weekend we had one last little bit of fun as a family before school starts up again. We went to a local state park, Fall Creek Falls. At just an hour and a half away from home, it makes for a great place for a quick getaway.

We stayed at the Inn. Here is the view from our room:



We arrived Friday afternoon. We started our day by taking a bike ride on one of the trails. After getting settled in our room, we went for a swim in the pool. We had a dinner buffet at the restaurant, then spent the evening just playing around on the dock behind the inn and relaxing in our rooms (Brian's parents went along too).

Saturday morning we took the hike down to the falls. Here is the view from the top:





It doesn't look like much in the picture does it? This picture cannot depict the vastness or beauty of it.

Let me begin this by saying it was pretty cool out Saturday morning. It really was perfect hiking weather. But our kids would not be happy with just a hike...no, they were determined to swim when we got down to the falls. We tried to tell them that the water from the falls would be COLD...but of course
, they can handle it. Mom is just a wimp.

Here are some snap shots taken right before we headed down:



Gabe wanted a picture with Mommy (not flattering, but I still love it ):





After getting down there, there was just no way our little camera could get a complete shot of the falls. Here is what I took from the bottom. The top of the falls:



The bottom of the falls:



Okay, now it's time for the kids to go swimming ( )...



Easing their way down to the water:





And this is as far as it went:



Gabe and Charity barely dipped their toes in, and Jillian got in up to her ankles.

After hiking back up, we had a picnic lunch. We then talked about what we should do next. We had biked, we had swam, we had hiked...what next? Well, it had been a LONG and BUSY summer.... We were all exhausted. So we went home.

 

[sweetpeaandevie]

that looks like a great trip!!! The falls are beautiful!!!

I'm ready for you to get back into movie nights too! You give me inspiration. I told my husband that I wanted to start doing them......I think he's worried that I will go overboard (I probably will), but at least it's fun!!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

HOW BEAUTIFUL!!!

You don't get how big it IS until you see your BEAUTIFUL family! it's enormous!!!

I love your ending.. totally epic.


what a great weekend!

When is you FL trip?!?! I really want your cruise PTR to start...

Sorry i am JUST SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!!!!!

 

[Pluto0809]

Beautiful pictures! So is the park towards Chattaanooga or the other way? Just wondering how close it is to me. Of course I am not much of a hiker or biker so it might not be the best choice.

Too funny that the kids only got their toes in the water. Did you give them a few "I told you so's" after?

 

[disny_luvr]

Wow, Oopsi, you've been very, very busy since I last checked into your PTR!

Gabe's birthday party looked like a lot of fun. Our boys are around the same age. My twins just turned 7-years-old at the end of June, however I was only due with them at the end of July, but had them early due to them being multiples. We were probably due around the same time. Anywho, my boys are really into Star Wars and Indiana Jones. I'm sure planning an Indy party was challenging, but it turned out great! You plan the best parties/movie nights. I think I need to borrow some of your creativity because I have zero. I enjoyed your pictures, too.

YAY for the arrival of your cruise planning DVD. Coincidentally, I ordered a new one recently and it just arrived on Monday. We haven't watched it because 1.) I don't know how to work our new Blu-Ray player and 2.) Dh has been working a lot of OT and he wants to watch it with us too. I think I might steal your idea of a blanket picnic in the family room and eat dinner and watch the DVD. Maybe tomorrow night - it is supposed to rain here tomorrow so DH won't have to work late. I hope you enjoyed the DVD. I'm sure that has you even more excited now.

Your weekend at the local state park looked awesome. Ironically, we went to a state park, too, recently but just for the day. We had a very similar reaction from our kids when they just insisted that they swim in the creek. The water was freezing and they didn't spend too much time in it. They did get in it though, which did surprise me. I just stayed on the bank and took pictures.

Looking forward to more details on your October trip and/or life updates.

 

[DMGeurts]

Hahha... Too funny... That's totally something my girls would do... Except - they would actually get in... They've been known to swim in the lake with ice on it yet... :whistle:

That looks like an awesome trip! Just some fun family bonding time. Loved seeing pictures of all of you!

D~

 

[oopsiDAISY]

that looks like a great trip!!! The falls are beautiful!!!

I'm ready for you to get back into movie nights too! You give me inspiration. I told my husband that I wanted to start doing them......I think he's worried that I will go overboard (I probably will), but at least it's fun!!!

Well, I have a tendency to go overboard, too...because they ARE so much fun! I did tell Brian I plan to scale back on them a bit, in an effort to have more $$$ to put towards our cruise. We shall see how THAT goes.

HOW BEAUTIFUL!!!

You don't get how big it IS until you see your BEAUTIFUL family! it's enormous!!!

I love your ending.. totally epic.


what a great weekend!

When is you FL trip?!?! I really want your cruise PTR to start...

Sorry i am JUST SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!!!!!

Yes, there was no way to capture on camera the enormity of that waterfall. For a day trip, it would be FREE! The only thing we paid for there was our room and dinner on Friday night. However that buffet rivaled Disney buffets... in PRICE!!!

We have exactly 67 days til vacation...

Beautiful pictures! So is the park towards Chattaanooga or the other way? Just wondering how close it is to me. Of course I am not much of a hiker or biker so it might not be the best choice.

Too funny that the kids only got their toes in the water. Did you give them a few "I told you so's" after?

Fall Creek Falls is about an hour and a half north of Chattanooga. It really is beautiful. They have cabins over the lake too, but we sort of booked too last minute to score one of those. They also have canoes, paddleboats, a big pool that the public can use (we only used the small pool at the inn), and lots of other stuff to do. You MAY enjoy it. Here is a link to the web site for you to look over if you want to.

http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/FallCreekFalls/

No "I told you so"..technically. More like "I tried to tell you!" LOL!

 

[KatMark]

The falls looks gorgeous; and no way are you getting this wimp mom in the water either.

I love the photo of you and your son.

 

[Pixiedust530]

Looks like a fun (and inexpensive) weekend away! The falls are beautiful! Too funny about the kids and the water. After all that...and they just got their toes wet. Not my Caden...he would have been in and submerged in less than 2 seconds...such a water bug!

We are at 67 days for our trip too! I can't wait!!!

 

[Pluto0809]

Fall Creek Falls is about an hour and a half north of Chattanooga. It really is beautiful. They have cabins over the lake too, but we sort of booked too last minute to score one of those. They also have canoes, paddleboats, a big pool that the public can use (we only used the small pool at the inn), and lots of other stuff to do. You MAY enjoy it. Here is a link to the web site for you to look over if you want to.

http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/FallCreekFalls/

No "I told you so"..technically. More like "I tried to tell you!" LOL!

Thanks for the link, I'll have to check it out.

So no POR for us in October. I called this morning to add the free dining and POR and POFQ were not available. Ended up with CSR with a king bed. I think we will enjoy it there although I may try to call back a few times to see if they release more FD rooms for POR.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

The falls looks gorgeous; and no way are you getting this wimp mom in the water either.

I love the photo of you and your son.

Yeah, I only swim when the water is just under bath water temperatures...

Looks like a fun (and inexpensive) weekend away! The falls are beautiful! Too funny about the kids and the water. After all that...and they just got their toes wet. Not my Caden...he would have been in and submerged in less than 2 seconds...such a water bug!

We are at 67 days for our trip too! I can't wait!!!

My kids are normally water bugs too, that is why they just KNEW I didn't have a clue what I was taking about....but the air was in the 60's that morning, and that water was coming out of a mountain.... COLD!

Thanks for the link, I'll have to check it out.

So no POR for us in October. I called this morning to add the free dining and POR and POFQ were not available. Ended up with CSR with a king bed. I think we will enjoy it there although I may try to call back a few times to see if they release more FD rooms for POR.

I kept up on FB with all the folks staying on hold FOR.E.VER. trying to get in on the FD. I was sort of happy I wasn't in on the madness. I am glad you were at least able to upgrade to a Mod. Here's hoping you end up with PO before it's all said and done!




And in other news.....

60 DAYS TIL VACATION!!!!!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

We started our movie nights back up this past weekend!!! We had decided to take the summer off from it, mainly because summer weekends were BOOKED SOLID. It felt good to get back into the swing of it.

This time we did Country Bears. In an effort to start saving for our cruise, I had told Brian I wanted to start scaling back on how much $$$ I spend on the movie nights. I did really good with this one. I was able to decorate with "found" items in the house, and our activity required no purchases either.

Pictures...

The invitation was a bit of a printer fail. It was supposed to be red and white gingham with a "real" image of the movie cover....here is what our printer gave us:



The decor:




We used our camping dishes and jelly jars!



Nothing fancy, but the food...was TO. DIE. FOR. It was sooooo good! Finger lickin' good indeed! I found the cornbread recipe from Whispering Canyon to add a little Magic to the menu:



Brian slow cooked the ribs on the smoker...YUM!





Gabe "dressed" for the movie and wanted me to take a picture:



So, then to even things up, I got a picture of the girls too:



Brian was supposed to play guitar for the sing along...but he injured his arm working in the yard. He has been in immense pain, so I gave him the night off. We just all sat on the floor and sang "campfire" songs together. We sang O Suzanna, Working on a Railroad, Home on the Range, and Do Your Ears Hang Low. I had printed out the lyrics for these songs. The kids got a kick out of the silliness of the songs. No pictures since it was just the five of us sitting on the living room floor singing silly songs.

For dessert we had this yumminess:



Allow me to wax sentimental for a bit, okay?

When the girls were young, we had Country Bears on VHS. For those of you who have seen this movie...it is not the best Disney movie ever made, is it? Well, when we watched it years ago, Brian wasn't in the best place in life, to say the least. He was in the throes of addiction, and was very cynical about life. Nothing made him laugh, he was an angry person, and very critical. Those of you who have followed my TR's may have heard me refer to the fact that about 4 years ago he and I were separated and destined for divorce. By only the grace of God, He saved us both and in turn our marriage was saved.

Well, this past Saturday night, I was once again reminded of just how far we have come. Remember, he has seen this movie before...lots of times, since Jillian really loved it as a small child. But I cannot tell you how it did my heart good to hear that man laughing louder than the kids when we watched it Saturday night!!! So, this movie will have a very soft place in my heart from now on...

And our next movie night theme is: